Garima Kothari murder suicide at hands of investment banker husband, Manmohan Mall. Pregnant Masterchef turned Jersey City restaurant owner hinted at financial discord.
A Masterchef finalist turned restaurant owner has been killed in an apparent murder-suicide in Jersey City at the hands of her investment banker husband, prosecutors say.
Garima Kothari, 35, died as a result of multiple upper-body injuries inflicted during a homicide, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez.
A medical examiner determined that Kothari was around five months pregnant when she was murdered the prosecutor told the Associated Press.
Manmohan Mall, 37, who was identified as Kothari’s husband, was also found dead in the Hudson River close to 8am on Sunday, prosecutors said. His cause of death is still yet to be determined by a medical examiner.
Mall was a vice president at Deutsche Bank, according to his LinkedIn page which has since been deleted. He immigrated to the U.S. from India about ten years ago to get his master’s degree from Columbia University. Kothari came to the U.S. a few years after he did according to his Facebook page.
Masterchef new restaurant Facebook posts hinted at economic disarray:
Jersey Police discovered the couple on 26 April after responding to a report of a possible suicide attempt in the Hudson River near Montgomery Street in Jersey City, NJ.com reports.
The chef and owner of restaurant Nukkad had previously competed in as one of the final fifteen contestants of Masterchef India in 2010, Too Fab reports.
Ms Kothari was found dead in a luxury apartment she shared with her investment banker husband at around 7.15am. Prosecutors say the woman had sustained apparent trauma to her upper body.
Prior to her murder, Ms Kothari along with her husband’s backing had opened an ‘Indian soul food’ restaurant in February. The eatery was forced to shut down soon after due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On her Facebook page, Kothari announced that she would be re-opening the restaurant, ‘Nukkad’ for delivery and take away on 19 April, only days before her murder.
Posted the restaurant owner who hinted at brimming economic discord:
‘Amongst the many reasons of safety and well being of my employees, the main reason is that Jersey city is right next to NYC and there seems to be no decision of quarantine or lockdown or even stopping of trains from & to NYC!!’
‘So its easy for the scared and terrified people who are not getting access to testing/medication to run to other states, carrying a possible covid with them!
‘I am a small business owner, and dont know how long can I afford to shut down but it is truly heart breaking when corporate giants like Grubhub UberEATS DoorDash refuse point blank to subsidize the 30% commission even during these hard times!!
‘What kind of economic sense is the government trying to pull during this time?!’
Kothari also complained of large companies ‘taking advantage’ of loans intended for small business as part of the government’s $2 trillion stimulus.
‘Yet another tough decision- Nukkad is up & running- even on SUNDAYS now! I would so appreciate the support of the community at this point of time! Existence in silo is not possible, hence I feel compelled to stay open & support my skeletal staff & be able to pay some fixed expenses (now that small biz fed loans have been lapped up by the Ruths & Shake shacks!!)’ Garima posted on Facebook April 19.
Dying to live the American dream:
Following her success in making it as a finalist on MasterChef: India in 2010, Kothari studied to become a pastry chef at Le Cordon Bleu Paris in France.
Upon graduating from the elite cooking school, Kothari eventually moved to New York, where she started a catering and consultancy named Breaking Bread.
Garima curated events for the likes of the Clinton family, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cher, Deepak Chopra and Melinda Gates.
To date prosecutors have yet to release a motive in the purported murder suicide.
‘While it remains at this time that these deaths are the result of a murder-suicide, the final determination is still pending the complete findings of the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office,’ Prosecutor Esther Suarez’s statement read.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201-915-1345.
