Death by Fame Recap for Diary of a Madman

 

This week’s episode of Death by Fame is titled Diary of a Madman and follows the tragic murder of actress Maple Batalia.

Her sister Rosy talks about Maple’s growing up years and love of performing. Rosy had been into modeling, so she would often take Maple with her to shoots. One day, another model didn’t show up for a shoot, so they allowed Maple to take her place, leading to her getting into modeling and acting.

Maple’s mom Sarbjit and cousin Baldish recall her getting into the entertainment business and how heads would turn when she entered the room because she was so beautiful. They were both so proud of her success.

Sarbjit and Rosy talk about life in India, while her dad talks about coming up with the name Maple because he loved maple trees. The family would then move to Canada, where Maple would act in school plays, developing a love of the craft with her amazing talent.

Lissa, Maple’s agent, talks about how Vancouver was Canada’s answer to Hollywood. Her photographer Tom talks about meeting Maple and knowing how she had something special. Despite the fact that modeling and acting were frowned upon in the culture, Maple’s parents were supportive of her dreams.

Maple’s best friend Natalie talks about their friendship and Maple’s boyfriend Gurjinder Dhaliwal, aka Gary. They had been together since they were teenagers, and he would sometimes appear in her projects. Natalie and Rosy recall him being good to her, while her friend Krystal thought there was a chance the two would eventually marry. Everyone was supportive of the relationship and the two families would become friends.

All the while, Maple would continue pursuing her dreams, eventually getting a role in a Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie. Everyone was super proud of her and thought this was her ticket to stardom. There was even an event in her honor when the movie premiered.

Gary would not go to the screening. Friends and family said that once Maple landed the movie role, her relationship with him would take a sour turn. He was jealous of one of her costars and of her career, leading to many incidents and red flags to pop up in the relationship, especially if other guys were involved.

Maple would also land a role in Secret Circle, where she would have to kiss a boy. While her parents were supportive of this role, Gary’s jealous streak would continue to grow, causing many problems.

Before long, Gary would become more controlling. He was even suspected of hitting her on a trip to Cuba, but Maple would deny it, coming up with a cover story. Nobody really believed her but had no idea what to do.

In 2011, Maple was in college studying health sciences while still acting. Things were picking up in her career, but her relationship with Gary was over. He was not taking the breakup well, becoming very angry with her. On September 24th of that year, Maple had been having coffee with a male friend at a local Tim Hortons. Gary had been following them and went after them in the shop. He punched the guy and dragged her out of the restaurant. He also took her phone and pushed her, which got the police arrive. She refused to press charges, but the police put a no contact rule in place.

On September 28th, Maple was at a study group at school. As she was leaving, she was attacked in the parking lot. Several 911 calls came in and police worked hard to save her life. She was then taken to the hospital, but it was too late to save her life. She had been shot and stabbed several times. Everyone suspected Gary was involved, but he denied any involvement.

Gary refused to cooperate with the police.

Surveillance video shows her walking first by herself and then with her friend Dhillon (the one assaulted by Gary) and others before they separated for the night. The video around the time of the attack panned away for a bit, but the car suspected of being involved was caught. It had a racing stripe on the back, making it unique. Further investigation showed that it was not rented by Gary, but by Gursimar Bedi.

The car was searched and there was no doubt that it was driven by the person who killed Maple.

Nobody knew who Gursimar was, other than that he was a classmate of Maple’s. When he rented the car, Gary had been with him, but there was no proof that they did anything….until the video footage was looked at again and Gursimar was spotted, following Maple. The car was also spotted watching for Maple.

Phone records put the two men at the scene of the crime and proved that they were stalking Maple and planning her murder. It was also learned that the weapons used were purchased by them.

A year after the murder, the men were arrested. Gary was charged with first degree murder. Gursimar was charged with manslaughter using a firearm and accessory after the fact.

Nobody could figure out why Gursimar was involved.

There was a lack of DNA other than Maple’s at the scene, so police worked on getting a confession from Gary.  Rosy was also on hand to help get him to confess via guilting him.

Gary would finally confess, saying it was all a mistake. He was convicted of 2nd degree murder and got a life sentence with no chance of parole for 21 years.

Gursimar was convicted of accessory after the murder and served 18 months in jail.

Maple’s loved ones continue to remember her and keep her memory alive and hope to help other women who are in the same situation in abusive relationships.