A central group of teens in Hulu’s Under the Bridge is the Shoreline Six, raising questions about their identities and charges. Based on the eponymous book by Rebecca Godfrey, the miniseries follows the true story of Reena Virk’s murder. On the night of her death, Reena was attacked by a group of eight teens, two of whom followed her across the bridge. These two teens, Warren Glowatski and Kelly Ellard, both played a part in her murder. While Kelly and Warren are the murderers, the other six individuals who attacked Reena Virk cannot be ignored.

However, details are more difficult to find because of the laws protecting youths in Canada. Only two of these girls have ever come forward in relation to the case, making their names public knowledge of their own volition. The others have never come forward, and legal publication bans related to the Youth Offenders Act prevent the sharing of identifying information. As such, the book by Godfrey provides the most information on the backgrounds, charges, and sentencing.

8Josephine Bell

Josephine Bell Is Based On Nicole Cook

In Hulu’s Under the Bridge, Josephine Bell is a teenager at Seven Oaks obsessed with gangs and the mafia who plans the attack on Reena Virk under the Craigflower Bridge. She notably stubbed out a cigarette on Reena’s forehead at the start of the fight. Rebecca Godfrey’s book provides information on Josephine’s trial, sentencing, and future. For her role in the attack on Reena, Josephine was charged with assault causing bodily harm and sentenced to a year – a charge downgraded for all the Shoreline Six from the initial charge of aggravated assault. Later, Josephine worked as a dancer at strip clubs, leaving her hometown and touring.

She eventually did an on-air interview for MSNBC’s Dateline program Bloodlust Under the Bridge, where she told Keith Morrison, “I’m not responsible for [Reena’s] death in any way, shape, or form. I wasn’t there. I didn’t kill her.” Then asserted that Reena didn’t die because of the attack. After this interview, Josephine stopped dancing and moved back to Vancouver. Despite their best efforts, the young woman never appeared as a witness for the Crown in a court case, and she refused to speak on Kelly’s behalf in front of the Supreme Court of Canada.

By cross-referencing the direct quote from Josephine, shared in the Afterword of the 2019 reprint of Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey – and the actual program, it’s confirmed that Josephine Bell was named Nicole Cook in real life. Josephine’s actions in the book also align with the actions of Cook outlined in Bloodlust Under the Bridge. Since moving back to Vancouver, Josephine Bell has kept her life private and out of the public eye.

7Dusty Pace

Dusty Pace Is An Amalgamation Character Theorized To Be Missy Pleich

Dusty Pace is one of the more prominent figures in the Shoreline Six and of the Seven Oaks teens in Hulu’s Under the Bridge. The teen was put into foster care after she was kicked out of her mother’s home and had an incident threatening her niece while living at her sister’s house. She becomes friends with Reena, whom she bonds with over their being outcasts. However, she still assaults Reena alongside the others.

Godfrey’s Under the Bridge book explains that Dusty was sentenced to one year in juvie after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. Josephine and Dusty were the only two who received the highest sentence, likely due to their role in getting Reena to the place of the attack. However, that’s just speculation, since the court records are private due to Dusty’s age at the time.

As an adult, she told Rebecca Godfrey that she thinks about Reena constantly and believes they should have gotten more time for attacking her because they were “monsters.” She refutes the common assertion that the attack on Reena was related to her ex-boyfriend. At the time of the book’s publication, Dusty had two children and focused on raising them to be good people.

According to the actor, the character Dusty is an amalgamation of real people in Hulu’s Under the Bridge (via The Wrap), but it’s heavily speculated that the main inspiration is Missy Pleich. Many statements by and about Pleich in Dateline’s Bloodlust Under the Bridge match up with details about Dusty from the book. However, the most telling similarity – being upset with Reena about her ex-boyfriend – is removed from Hulu’s Under the Bridge miniseries.

6Laila Zahrani

Laila Zahrani’s Real Identity Is Protected By The Youth Criminal Justice Act

Though she isn’t a main character in Hulu’s Under the Bridge, Laila is one of the Shoreline Six who appears frequently in the background of most episodes. Rebecca Godfrey’s book provides more information on the background of Laila. She is a kickboxer with a tendency towards violence who talks really fast. Prior to the night of the assault and murder, Laila didn’t know Reena well, only seeing her walk down the halls at school. When they all attacked Reena Virk underneath the Craigflower Bridge, Laila was the person who eventually broke up the fight.

She told everyone that the next person who touches Reena gets a shot (presumably meaning a punch) from her. Despite this, she encouraged Dusty to stay silent, making her culpable in delaying the police investigating Reena Virk’s attack and murder. After her arrest, Laila pleads guilty to assault causing bodily harm, getting a sentence of six months in juvie.

In Godfrey’s section on the adulthood of the teens in Saanich, she explains that Laila stayed in the area, unlike many of the Shoreline Six. She stopped doing kickboxing and refused to cooperate with the Crown in the other trials. Additionally, Laila lived with a man called “armed and dangerous” by the police. The real Laila has never publicly come out with her identity or done any interviews on the night of Reena Virk’s attack and murder.

5Maya Longette

Maya Longette’s Real Identity Is Protected By The Youth Criminal Justice Act

Out of all the Shoreline Six, Maya arguably has the darkest past in real life. According to Rebecca Godfrey’s Under the Bridge, when Maya was six years old, she saw her father brutally murdered in front of her, allegedly by a drifter and her mother. The perpetrators of the crime then kidnapped Maya and kept her captive for just under a week. The two people responsible for this were arrested but never convicted for their crimes. All aspects of this upbringing left Maya with severe trauma. Maya was then adopted by her aunt.

She was involved in the attack on Reena, admitting to hitting Reena when questioned by the police. Though she didn’t come forward of her own volition, the teen gave the police the big break by telling them everything she knew about the crime, including the names of everyone involved in the attack and the two people who followed Reena to the other side of the bridge.

Maya was eventually charged with assault causing bodily harm, going to trial rather than pleading guilty. She was sentenced to six months, though her lawyer argued that her trauma should lessen her time in juvie. The only thing known about her future is that she moved away from her hometown and cut off most of her past, only staying in contact with her best friend Willow.

4Willow

Willow’s Real Identity Is Protected By The Youth Criminal Justice Act

In Hulu’s Under the Bridge, Kelly Ellard and Warren Glowatski are considered part of the Shoreline Six because they remove Willow and Eve from the show. It’s unclear exactly why they removed Willow from Under the Bridge. Willow was the best friend of Maya who smoked cannabis on a daily basis. She is listed as one of the girls with a crush on Warren. She participated in the attack on Reena Virk, getting arrested for the crime of assault causing bodily harm.

Like Maya, she chose not to plead guilty and was sentenced to six months in juvie. It’s unknown what her life was like between her time in juvie and her death. What’s shared in the adulthood section of Rebecca Godfrey’s book is that prior to her death, Willow wrote a letter to Warren saying that she missed him. Willow died of natural causes from a heart arrhythmia.

3Eve

Eve’s Real Identity Is Protected By The Youth Criminal Justice Act

Like Willow, Eve never appeared in Hulu’s Under the Bridge. While it’s never confirmed why they removed Eve, she was probably taken out because she had the smallest role in the attack on Reena Virk out of all the Shoreline Six. Additionally, there is only a little bit of information in the book about Eve, besides her sentencing. The few passages that reference her describe her appearance and establish her as someone who had dinner with Maya, Willow, and Kelly. Eve also said she never got in trouble and didn’t know Reena.

Interestingly, Eve isn’t mentioned a single time in the chapter on Reena’s attack. This is likely because Eve only slapped Reena once or twice. When she was charged with assault causing bodily harm, she pleaded not guilty. She was found guilty but only given 60 days in juvie because of her minimal role in the attack. In the flashforward adulthood section, Eve moved away and couldn’t remember the night of Reena’s attack.

2Kelly Ellard

Kelly Ellard’s Name Is Publicly Available Because She Was Tried As An Adult

During the show Under the Bridge, Kelly Ellard is considered one of the Shoreline Six, even though, in reality, she and Warren were separated from that group because of the murder charges. Godfrey outlines Kelly’s background and multiple trials. Kelly Ellard came from an affluent and positive background, making her the only one in the group with this benefit. She was charged with second-degree murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of five years. Kelly was released between trials after her lawyer filed an appeal. The court reversed her judgment and ordered a new trial.

She was released on house arrest, then her bail conditions were loosened. After an alleged assault, Kelly’s bail was revoked. Her second trial resulted in a hung jury with eleven in favor of conviction and one against, resulting in a mistrial. According to CBC, in 2005, she was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to life with a minimum of seven years before parole.

The conviction was overturned in the court of appeals. Then, her conviction was reinstated by the Supreme Court of Canada. According to the Afterword of Under the Bridge in the 2019 reprint, Ellard got pregnant while in prison and had a child. Kelly didn’t get day parole until November 2017, at which point she moved into a halfway house with her son.

1Warren Glowatski

Warren Glowatski’s Name Is Publicly Available Because He Was Tried As An Adult

Of all the individuals who attacked Reena Virk, Under the Bridge provides the most information and offers the most sympathetic depiction of Warren Glowatski. The only boy involved in the attack and murder of Reena Virk came from a troubled background. He didn’t know Reena but still perpetrated violence against her because he wanted to feel powerful. Warren Glowatski was arrested for second-degree murder and found guilty in his trial, shown at the end of Under the Bridge episode 7. The judge sentenced him to life with a minimum of seven years incarcerated (including his time in juvie).

Warren’s life after his Under the Bridge trial involved him reforming his life using the resources in the prison system. He took anger management classes, connected with his Metis heritage, and became involved in restorative justice. Through the restorative justice program, Warren met with Reena Virk’s parents, Manjit and Suman, for healing purposes. One of these meetings is described in detail in the Afterword of Godfrey’s Under the Bridge. He was granted day parole in 2007 and full parole in 2010.