There are times when our discussion of recent stories touching on the law and policy can hit too close to home. This is one such tragic circumstance. George Washington biomedical engineering student Rahul Gupta (left), has been charged with the killing of a Georgetown University law student, Mark Edward Waugh. Both men came from McLean, where I live, and attended one of the two high schools here, Langley. Gupta’s defense will be made more difficult by incriminating statements made upon his first encounter with police.
When police arrived, they found blood in the kitchen and living room where a blood-soaked Gupta was found. Police say that Gupta told them “My girl and my buddy were cheating, my girl was cheating with my buddy. I walked in on them cheating and I killed my buddy.” Such statements are admissible even though not made post-Miranda. They are excited utterances or voluntary statements heard in the initial investigation of the crime scene.
What is known is that the three had been drinking in celebration of Gupta’s birthday. Waugh was found with what are described as “defensive wounds” as well as stab wounds to his jugular vein, upper chest and back. The woman reportedly said that she did not know what had happened and that she could not remember anything after drinking shots of alcohol at the apartment. However, other reports say that she called police after finding Gupta kneeling over Waugh.
It is obviously a tragedy on every possible level. None of this makes sense — though few crimes of passion make sense afterward. The men were top students at Langley with records showing both advance placement courses and extracurricular clubs. Gupta was in a talented tennis player while Waugh was in the robotics club.
Waugh (right), 23, was a first-year law student at Georgetown and had a bright future as a lawyer. A debating team standout, he graduated magna cum laude from James Madison University in 2012.
Gupta was equally successful in his life and held a promising future in bio-engineering. He is now sitting in jail with a $2 million bond.
Our condolences to our friends at Georgetown University and most importantly to the family of Mark Edward Waugh.
Source: Washington Post
Miranda. Miranda. It’s the most mentioned case in the criminal law, but who can answer these questions (without looking them up)?
1. Who was Miranda’s lawyer, the forgotten guy who made it all happen?
2. What was Miranda’s first name? Hint, it wasn’t Carmen.
3. What happened at Miranda’s retrial?
4. After his case, what did Miranda do for a living?
5. How did Miranda die?
Sad for…. Everyone ….
young and in love doesnt give the way for insecure and jealousy and that is what this sounds like. gupta sounds like he isnt a very good drinker and his insecurities took over his good sense .and to fight back his insecurites he killed his best friend its not the first nor the last time we will hear of anything like this… maybe their relationship was in trouble already and this birthday party coupled with alcohol brought out the anger and insecurity. which took the form of jealousy of someone gupta felt was better then him or could be better then him in the eyes of his girlfriend. maybe he wasnt a good boyfriend in the first place and knowing this he let anger take over
RWL:
you ever been young and in love?
If you have a kid who is considering undergrad or grad school then put schools in DC first on the list. Things happen in DC. Look on public television and see how many seminars on various important topics. Georgetown is often the forum host. GW as well. Howard is a great place and a great law school. For law school those three are my first choice over anywhere else. I would look at Chicago too. For law the University of Chicago is first rate. Locations matter.
Sick happens.
RWL, You’ve read too many murder novels.
Let’s see: young people, 2 men, 1 woman, alcoholic drinks, knives (maybe a gun) and celebrating a birthday party inside of an apartment, instead of going out. Sounds like someone planned this murder.
A clear case for the stupidity of outlawing the instrument(knives, guns, ball bats, hands that strangle) and highlighting the idiocy of drunks. A rational and intelligent decision maker would simply evict these two defectors from his life…..
An excited utterance made by a 6 year old rape victim helped us convict a very bad man. This has all the appearances of a crime of passion. For the victims family, the degree of the crime means little. But, for a judge or jury, it should, and hopefully will, mean something.