Guilty plea in Maple Batalia murder case
Posted March 3, 2016 10:20 am.
Last Updated March 3, 2016 3:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
(Editor’s note: This article contains some graphic details, which may be disturbing to some readers)
NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS 1130) – The ex-boyfriend of a 19-year-old SFU student who was gunned down at the university’s Surrey campus four years ago has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Gurjinder Dhaliwal was originally charged with first-degree murder.
Today, court heard graphic details of how Batalia was shot.
When those details came out in court, Batalia’s mother burst into tears.
The crime is described as one of jealousy.
Dhaliwal was upset that Batalia had broken up with him. The court heard that from mid August to mid September, the man sent more than 1,700 texts to the young woman, and made more than 150 calls. Batalia on the other hand, sent few messages and made few calls.
“This is a family that has been very badly impacted. They loved and cherished Maple. She’s horribly missed by her friends and family. She was a very fine young woman who was shot down as she embarked on adulthood,” says Crown Counsel Wendy Stephen.
“He was an jealous ex-boyfriend. She had told him the relationship was over. She was moving on. He did not want that to occur. He became enraged when he saw her with another young man, who happened to be a friend.”
NEWS1130’s Anita Bathe has all the details and more reaction from the devastated parents:
Sentencing for Dhaliwal will happen on Monday.
Second-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence. Crown and defence will be asking for no chance of parole for 21 years.
Dhaliwal’s co-accused, Gursimar Bedi, is charged with manslaughter and accessory after the fact. His trial is expected to start next week.
