New Jersey Murder-Suicide: Pregnant Woman Found Dead In Apartment After Husband's Body Pulled Out Of River

A pregnant woman, who was a restaurant owner in New Jersey and also a former "Masterchef" finalist, was found dead at her home in what appears to be a case of murder-suicide.

The victim, identified as 35-year-old Garima Kothari, was five months pregnant when she was brutally killed by her husband who later killed himself. Her body was found in their apartment at Christopher Columbus Drive in Jersey City on Sunday shortly after her husband, identified as 37-year-old Manmohan Mall, was found dead in the Hudson River.

The Jersey City Police Department on Sunday responded to a report of a possible suicide attempt and arrived at the Hudson River near Montgomery Street. Mall’s body was pulled out of the river. An investigation led the officers to his apartment where they found Kothari lying motionless. She was found with multiple injuries to her torso.

An autopsy conducted by the regional medical examiner’s office confirmed that the multiple upper-body injuries Kothari suffered indicated death by homicide. Mall’s autopsy results were pending, but according to the authorities, he murdered Kothari before he killed himself.

“It appears at this time that these deaths are the result of a murder-suicide,” Hudson County prosecutor's office said.

Kothari was the owner of an Indian restaurant named Nukkad on Greene Street in the Paulus Hook neighborhood of New Jersey. She had opened the restaurant in February just weeks before the COVID-19 lockdown.

Being an experienced chef and a former contestant and finalist of the hit television show "Masterchef India" in 2010, Kothari had curated events for famous personalities like the Clinton family, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cher, and Melinda Gates.

Mall’s Linkedin profile showed that he was an investment banker at the Deutsche Bank.

The Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit along with the Jersey City Police Department is actively investigating the case. According to the evidence collected as of now indicates that the deaths are the result of a murder-suicide. However, a final confirmation is still pending as the autopsy results of Mall is yet to be released from the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office.