Maple Batalia was just 19 years old when she was murdered in the parkade of the Simon Fraser University Surrey Campus, where she had been studying to become a doctor, in Sept. 2011.
VANCOUVER – A judge has ruled that Maple Batalia’s killer’s friend Gursimar Bedi is guilty of accessory after the fact in the murder of the Indo-Canadian teen . Bedi was found not guilty of a manslaughter charge.
Batalia was just 19 years old when she was murdered in the parkade of the Simon Fraser University Surrey Campus, where she had been studying to become a doctor, in Sept. 2011.
Batalia’s ex-boyfriend Gurjinder Dhaliwal has already been sentenced life in prison without the possibility of parole for 21 years after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
According to Crown prosecutor Wendy Stephens, Dhaliwal killed her because she wanted to break up with him because of his repeated infidelity.
Stephens said Dhaliwal engaged in “obsessive, controlling behaviour” in the weeks before the killing. He sent her thousands of messages, threatened male friends and ultimately lay in wait to confront and kill her.
Bedi rented vehicle driven by 19-year-old’s killer.
In a lengthy decision, the judge cited text messages and a car rental as the main reasons for the verdict.
Sergeant Stephanie Ashton with IHIT calls this second guilty verdict in the case a result of hard work.
“The guilty verdict against Mr. Bedi should be a reminder to anyone engaging in crime — no matter what their role is in the crime — they will be held responsible.”
Bedi, 26, be back in court on June 9th to set a date for sentencing.
