A Shocking Discovery Leaves Dusty Shaken in Hulu's 'Under the Bridge' — What Happened to Her?

When watching a fictionalized telling of actual events, it's important to pay attention to the messages on the show. Take Hulu's Under the Bridge, which uses a title card before every episode to explain that the series is "based on actual events." The show has also taken artistic liberties with the story in order to enhance the drama. Some might say this is a little unethical when it comes to true crime, but the facts of the case remain unchanged so it's unlikely that anyone is hurt by these decisions.

One of the more interesting choices made on Under the Bridge was to replace the very real Missy Pleich, with the fictional character of Dusty Pace. Dusty is part of a three-person gang called CMC that also includes Josephine Bell and Kelly Ellard. These are the girls who police are focused on while searching for Reena Virk's killer. As the investigation progresses, Dusty begins to fray at the edges. What happened to her? She is barely holding it together. Here's what we know.

Josephine and Dusty both live at a foster home for vastly different reasons. While we don't get specific details, we learn that Josephine's mother is incapable of caring for her daughter while Dusty was kicked out of her home. Kelly, the third member of their crew, comes from a wealthy family with a doting mother who seems unable to say no to her somewhat terrifying daughter. Although Josephine and Dusty like to pretend they are tough, they learn that the real threat is Kelly.

Without even a hint of remorse, Kelly reveals that she is the one who killed Reena. It's done in a way that only an unwell teenager could do, she shows her friend's Reena's muddy shoes which were tucked away in Josephine's closet. "I did it for you," Kelly says to a horrified Josephine. It's no different than when a cat brings its owner a dead mouse. Josephine pulls herself together but it's clear Dusty is deeply affected but what she saw, and what she now knows.

"How the f--- are we supposed to be around this b----," asks Dusty who is very clearly not on board. Dusty's response can be explained by the fact that she's human, and she just found out her friend murdered someone. But that's not the only reason why she panics. Unlike Kelly and Josephine, Dusty was actually Reena's friend.

Dusty visits her family who has a protective order against her after she threatened one of them. She's picked up by Detective Bentland who informs her that she's aware of the fact that Dusty and her pals have decided to blame Warren Glowatski for Reena's death. Bentland gives Dusty ample opportunity to tell the truth, but the frightened teenager doubles down and claims Warren was solely responsible.

After hearing Kelly joke about how she held Reena's head down under water while smoking an entire cigarette, Dusty snaps and attacks her. Josephine and Kelly decide that Dusty can't be trusted. Before heading to a school dance, Joephine and Kelly put rat poison in a bottle of iced tea mixed with vodka. Already drunk, Dusty vomited after taking one sip.

Feeling desperate, Kelly and Josephine drive her to a train track where she is almost convinced to take her own life before Josephine stops her. It's unclear if Josephine herself is feeling guilty but none of that matters. The three of them, along with Warren and two other girls are arrested. Dusty may have lived but her life could be over in other ways.