Batalia murder highlights women’s vulnerability: EVA BC
Posted October 1, 2011 7:30 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The list of of women who’ve met violent deaths in the Lower Mainland keeps getting longer.
Maple Batalia is the latest woman to be killed in recent months.
While no one has been charged in the shooting death of Maple Batalia at SFU’s Surrey campus on Wednesday, an expert says schools and workplaces are the number one areas where women are stalked.
Tracy Porteous with the Ending Violence Association of BC says women leaving violent relationships are at their most vulnerable, and they should let friends know about their situation.
“If it is the situation and she has broken up with this guy or has left the relationship, she can let her neighbours know that if they see his car they should call police,” Porteous says. “And coworkers should know that if he comes around that they should phone police.”
She hopes that men themselves come forward when they learn that a buddy has been abusive in a relationship.
Here’s a list of some of the women whose murders have been making headlines in the last few weeks:
Lancy Hu
• Her body was found in a suitcase floating in the Fraser River; her husband has been charged with her murder.
Ravinder Bhangu
• Killed at a Surrey newspaper office; her husband has been charged with her murder.
Poonam Randhawa
• Shot to death back in 1999; her former boyfriend extradited from the US last month to face charges.
Amanda Zhao
• Killed in 2002; her boyfriend’s trial in China has just gotten underway.
Melanie O’Neill
• Was found killed in her home in July; no one has been charged.
Susan Miller
• Her husband has been found mentally fit to stand trial for second degree murder.
Tasha Rossette
• Four months pregnant when she was stabbed to death in 2005; her boyfriend was convicted of her first-degree murder but a judge has just ordered a new trial.
Manjit Panghali
• Her husband strangled her and burned her remains in October 2006; In May of this year Mukhtiar Panghali was convicted of second-degree murder and handed a life sentence; he can apply for parole in 11 years.
Jennifer Ferguson
• Her body was found in a North Vancouver park. Her boyfriend has been charged.
Rumana Monzur
• The 33-year-old UBC student was blinded while home in Bangladesh for a visit. Her husband has been charged with attempted murder.
