Man who blamed 1L's slaying on his girlfriend is convicted of murder
A George Washington University student was convicted on Monday for the fatal stabbing of a Georgetown University law student.
Jurors in Montgomery County, Maryland, convicted Rahul Gupta, 25, of first-degree murder after deliberating less the five hours, the Washington Post reports. He was convicted in the slaying of first-year law student Mark Waugh.
At trial, Gupta blamed the stabbing on his girlfriend, an account that differed with his previous statements.
Gupta was celebrating his 24th birthday on the night of the incident in October 2013. He dined with his girlfriend and visited three bars, where they met Waugh, a high school friend of Gupta’s. The three people returned to the apartment of Gupta and his girlfriend in Silver Spring, Maryland.
After the fatal stabbing, Gupta told police he killed Waugh because he found him cheating with his girlfriend. Later, he told his father that his friend had tried to kill him first, but he was able to get the knife. At trial, where he testified, he maintained he was taking the fall for his girlfriend when he made those statements.
The girlfriend testified she didn’t remember what happened because she had been drinking heavily.
Sentencing is set for April 16.