SURREY, B.C. – A family in Surrey, B.C. is mourning the death of their youngest daughter _ a model and actress who was gunned down at a university parking lot early Wednesday.
The body of 19-year-old Maple Batalia was found about 1 a.m. near an entrance to the Surrey Central City campus of Simon Fraser University, where she was a student.
Her grieving father said the death of his “only jewel” has made it difficult for him to find a reason to go on in life.
“I’ve lost everything I had,” said Harkirat Batalia in an interview with the Canadian Press.
“My life source is gone. I wished I was dead many years back so that I didn’t have to see this day. I cannot explain in any terms how to live now.”
Police said the young woman had been shot several times. She was still alive when she was found but died later in hospital.
No arrests have been made, but Harkirat Batalia said he believes the main suspect is an old schoolmate.
Earlier in the day, he told CKNW radio that he lost his daughter to “an idiot with a gun,” and that Maple had “complained to her mom about the behaviour of this boy.”
Harkirat Batalia said Maple, the youngest of three children, dreamed of becoming a doctor. She was born near Mumbai, India, and was only six months old when the family moved to Canada.
“We’re in a very bad shape, totally, totally upset, and I don’t know what is my future after she is gone,” said the stunned father.
“She was the most intelligent, sweet soft-spoken person in all our generations.”
The Batalia home was packed with mourners offering their condolences Wednesday night.
Phil Ackerman, president of L2 Models in Vancouver, the agency that represented Maple, said he was shocked to hear about the killing.
“She was a lovely, absolutely lovely person, an amazing person. It’s just so hard to believe,” he said.
“She was extremely articulate, extremely intelligent, extremely focused. She was aspiring to be a doctor, that’s what she wanted to be. She was dedicated to her studies and was a really strong actor.”
Ackerman said at five and a half feet, Maple wasn’t a runway model, but did promotional work, representing various clients at trade shows.
Harkirat Batalia said his daughter used modelling and acting to help pay for her education. She had a small role in the movie “Diary of Wimpy Kid.”
The family said Maple will be cremated, after which they will hold a prayer service at a Sikh temple where a priest will recite passages from a holy book and pray for her soul.
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