What Happened in Apartment 1601? | Full Episode | Forensic Files

before all of this my brother had a beautiful girlfriend Taylor the had friends Mark and sort of in the blink of an
eye it's completely changed you know we can't bring mark back if we could we would this story is about a very violent
very bloody murder involving three promising young people just outside Washington
DC it starts with some friends and a birthday dinner they're going to go out and
celebrate Montgomery County 911 what is the address of the emergency what is your name Taylor gold
the police get this 911 call it's a little vague there's blood everywh how do you what do you mean there's blood
everywhere what what happened I don't know the police come into this efficiency apartment that's all
bloody they see a dead guy with a lot of blood on him they see his friend who's covered with blood and then they see the
friend's girlfriend she's got blood on her marw the victim he was stabbed in the neck was stabbed in the chest twice
in his left shoulder his jugular vein was cut just brutal I got a call that two subjects
were coming they were definitely not the usual cast of characters at all Mark W he's a first year law student at
Georgetown Rahul Gupta is Mark's friend from high school he's got an engineering
degree and then there's Taylor gold Rahul gupta's girlfriend she's got a biomedical engineering degree as
well Mark is dead what yeah t gold oh my God you know clearly she had been drinking Mr gupto had also been drinking
I don't know how Mark has stand they can both remember up until a certain point but the crucial 45 minutes nobody seems
to remember anything I don't remember what happened I told you everything I did remember
you're talking about a really small apartment to say that you don't know what happened when somebody gets killed
violently is unbelievable somebody was murdered in your joint I I know some people are
going to do whatever they have to do in order to try to save themselves one of them had to do it I really don't
remember I didn't believe her then and I still don't believe her now and I don't
know that we believed either one of them I know my brother he didn't do this one
of them didn't oh my [Music] God [Music] I'm Richard slesinger tonight on 48 Hours what happened in apartment
[Music] [Music] 1601 when you came in the door how did you approach this place well we're stacked
up kind of like how we are now one guy behind me officer Dean skba was working the night shift in Montgomery County
Maryland when he got the kind of call Young police officers sometimes dream about and sometimes lose sleep over how
Bloody was this apartment that day it's like a horror movie you can see it up all over the wall all over the ground
it was about 2: a.m. October 13th 2013 three successful 20 somethings arrived at this tiny studio apartment
near Washington DC two of them lived here a grad student named Rahul Gupta and his girlfriend Taylor gold they'd
been bar hopping for rahul's 24th birthday and came home with a friend Mark wall who was a promising young law
student but within about an hour mark wall would be dead stabbed to death here on the
floor he's he's here and I I need emergency right now when Taylor gold called the
police she was drunk at times incoherent what is happening I don't know when officer skeba and the other
First Responders got to the scene Taylor gold met them at the door and stayed in
the hall with police he says the First Responders had no idea what they were walking into it was just a mess Mark was
laying right here Mara was dead gupto is laying right here gupto was covered in blood and
drunk he kept rambling and talking in circles but skeba says he was startled by what Gupta said next next I do
remember him distinctly saying to me I caught my buddy and my girl cheating I killed my
buddy as drunk as he was it was hard to know if gupta's confession was believable he was handcuffed on the
spot what did you think about the woman was she a suspect oh yeah definitely because they also suspected Taylor
Police handcuffed her as well Taylor and Gupta arrived at Police Headquarters at about 500
a.m. where veteran interrogator detective Paula Hamill met them I'm Paula Hamill I'm detected with the
police department they were both brought to headquarters as suspects you can close your
[Music] eyes as a mother of six Hey Taylor detective Hamill had questioned her share of young people Taylor can you hop
up for a minute and she says it was clear and Gupta and Taylor's answers that the haze of alcohol was
obscuring the details they were the only people still alive and they were of no help no help no help I'm really not sure
what happened between when we got there and when the police got there they told strikingly similar
stories about what they remembered which was was I don't know not much it's kind
of that I don't remember what happened haml suspected they both knew more than they were letting
on that apartment there's not even like a separate bedroom or anything somebody was murdered I know you have to have
some explanation that certainly is something that you would remember for your life because he confessed Rahul was
still the prime suspect but detective Hamill couldn't possibly have expected what happened when she turned up the
heat on Taylor listen to how Taylor answers when she's asked if she did it did you kill
Mark I don't think so she doesn't say no she told police she didn't remember in his drunken confession at
the scene Gupta said he did it because he caught Taylor cheating on him with Mark but Taylor says she and Mark
did nothing UNT War you not have any kind of sexual relationship with Mark no I can't imagine doing that but if you
find evidence otherwise I'm not going to deny detective Hamill spent hours going
back and forth between Taylor and Rahul and getting very little at as the hours passed Gupta was
sobering up I found him like that and starting to back away from his confession so if you don't remember then
then there's a possibility that you did there is that possibility but I I know for a fact that I didn't do it was he
frustrating you yes I can't say what happened see how it's hard for me to wrap my head around that
sure after several hours of interrogation Gupta was charged with murder and his parents hired defense
attorneys Phil Armstrong and Jennifer Pig the first statement your client makes to the police was a confession how
do you get around that people who are under stress do crazy stupid things he says in this case Gupta tried
to cover for Taylor the bottom line is this he's innocent they agree his drunken
confession is not as revealing as his character rul Gupta is a kind mild mannered man whose life's intent was to
marry Taylor gold have a family and help Society the guptas arrived in the Washington area from India in
1986 and built a successful printing business they moved to the affluent suburb of mlan Virginia
[Music] Rahul met Mark W in high school W was known as a quirky kid who loved to smile
and loved to challenge in school and in The Great Outdoors huge personality always smiling always joking huge heart
before Mark W started Georgetown law school he'd been a star debater in high school and
college but Jason Peters met him years before that in Cub Scouts I remember sort of a funny Goofy character a decade
of campouts cookouts and community service eventually made them both Eagle Scouts he was a strong leader and
someone that you could really look up to he prided himself on his leadership ability Mark was just a really nice kid
he was a really good friend for Raul gupta's older sister Shireen says her brother was a loyal friend too
because they'd been raised to believe anything worth having was worth working hard to keep in fact the gupa family
worked hard for everything especially education Rahul was going for his second master's
degree Raul is a really smart guy reporter Dan moris covering the murder for the Washington Post said everything
about this crime was interesting especially the three people who were there that night there's Mark W no one
can say a bad thing about the guy you know why would anyone want to hurt him and then there's Taylor gold he says
Taylor showed immense promise too she and Gupta had started dating as seniors at George Washington University and
moved in together after graduation do you ever talk to you about her I think I asked him one time like
are you serious you know say this is going somewhere and his reply was yes and you approved yeah I mean I support
him Taylor helped out with some of gupta's bills while he paid for his studies she works at the FDA nice
government job the three of them all had these very Bright Futures ahead of them
and one of them still could have a bright future but not before police find out what happened in apartment
16001 and who did it clearly I you know interacted with the body cuz I had blood
on me I just don't know when it [Music] happened we started figuring out that something was wrong when rul didn't
respond to any of our birthday wishes it was the evening after Mark wall CA murder and Shireen goop a rap report
says her family still had no idea what had happened in fact they planned a dinner out to celebrate rahul's birthday
but Rahul and Taylor gold never showed up how worried were you I mean really worried really worried because it just
wasn't normal we couldn't get him on the phone we couldn't reach Taylor on her phone we knew there was something
wrong did you touch him that part I don't remember at Police Headquarters Paula Hamill spent about 8 hours talking to
gupa and Taylor but not getting anywhere the blood on your hands and your feet do
you have any idea where that came from I assume from Mark Hamill says Gupta was still trying to talk his way out of his
confession I want to take this time now to say that I did not attack anybody Gupta says he was zoned out on the couch
drunk and stoned and only looked up when he heard Taylor screaming when he realized Mark was hurt
he says he tried to stop the bleeding I came to him and then I put a lot of pressure here and then I just sort of
like hugged him gup acknowledged he never actually saw his best friend and his girlfriend doing anything improper
he only had a hunch him and Tay just made it seem like they were they had a thing going on and as soon as I found
that out I just started doing my own thing the brother that I know is very calm actually a very calm person but
since he had confessed at the scene Gupta remained the prime suspect prosecutors Timothy Hagen and Patrick
Maize would begin looking into his past he was overly competitive confrontational there was some talk
about him having a temper yeah not that I've seen you've never seen him mad no we know that he has a temper and we know
that that temper gets worse when he drinks they say it's a wonder Gupta and tailor
remember anything at all you have the mix of alcohol and drugs I smoked marijuana before I went before I went
out Gupta and his friends went bar hopping for his birthday to three bars drinking for
hours Gupta Taylor and Mark were joined by another friend Josh white and everyone agrees things started getting
strange around midnight at this Bar Buffalo Billiards but they strongly disagree on crucial details along with
the drinking there was a little flirting one of the most important questions in this case is who was flirting with whom
Taylor gold said Josh White was getting a little too friendly Josh was texting me and it was really weird and he was
kind of hitting on me and and um Josh was yes but Josh White would later tell them it was the other way around she has
the S to a little flirtatious to Ra's friends and I just asked her like straight up like what's the deal like
you know you're you're a little flirtatious she said I could uh I couldn't do that to raahul you know I
love him very much he says Mark walked up to them at exactly that moment over heard her say I couldn't do that to
Rahul and misunderstood it sounded like I was hitting on her and so he took that very badly he was pretty
pissed off Josh White says he tried to explain the misunderstanding to Mark and Rahul at the bar but things had gotten
uncomfortable and Taylor wanted to leave white went back to his place Mark went home with Gupta and
Taylor this is security video of the three of them walking through the lobby toward the
elevator not long before the bloody attack on Mark wall can you tell anything from the
body language of Raul Gupta and Taylor gold she seems intoxicated she seem mad I don't
think so I didn't see that does he seem mad it's hard to tell to this day prosecutors still
aren't sure how Mark wall became the target of this brutal attack was is there ever any friction between your
brother and Mark not that I know of but at one point Mark texted a friend apparently from the
bathroom my night is becoming historically awkward and I'm about to gnaw my hand off so I can leave in the
ambulance he's just looking for an escape so there was some drama going on in that apartment absolutely because
Gupta and Taylor both lived here DNA and fingerprints wouldn't help but there were other bits of
evidence that would and the prosecutors say that's what focused their attention on Gupta
and away from Taylor it's not possible that she physically could have done it Taylor is only 5'5 and 125 lbs they were
sure she isn't big enough to be the killer Mark who's considerably larger than her was fighting back she doesn't
have a mark on her consistent with being fought back they also don't think she was Bloody enough she has no blood on
her face no blood in her hair could she have washed up there are photographs that are taken within several minutes
her hair is not wet and she has her makeup on and they say she behaved as anyone would who is confused and
innocent how'd she get blood on her hands contact with Gupta on the 911 call it does sound like Taylor could be
touching Gupta offly don't touch me the prosecutors concede Taylor and Gupta might have been in love once but they
say they were not at the time of the murder this relationship was not a good relationship bra was just like I just
want to have fun it's my birthday and then Taylor was just like we should just go by the time police talked to Josh
White they were already thinking that rahul's birthday binge was an argument waiting to happen I'm just trying to
find out what the happened what the heck yeah somebody got stabbed right so it again I I don't
know I didn't do it Rahul still insists he didn't do it but now for the first time he says he
knows who did if you didn't stab him then who did okay yeah he said you had to have done it cuz
he didn't do it oh my God obviously I don't trust thata girl I just don't trust her I did not attack Mark I did not
attack anybody I think he felt like maybe he could talk himself out of whatever trouble he might be in I didn't
stab anyone detective Paula Hamill who spent hours interrogating Rahul Gupta says when he changed his story she
didn't change her mind I believe that his initial statement was as truthful as he could have been and then I think he
spent the rest of the time trying to get away from that there's no question that
Raul made false statements defense attorney Jennifer pagee says Gupta was drunk and disoriented and that's why he
confessed to protect Taylor from being charged with the murder I think it's very difficult for people to believe
that an innocent person would implicate themsel for any reason at any time to any degree I think that he would
definitely try to protect Taylor I mean when you heard what he said to that first police officer who came in what
did you make of that honestly I didn't believe it you didn't believe he said those words correct co-counsel Phil
Armstrong says as goopa sobered up he quickly realized going to prison for Taylor gold wasn't a good idea
so he started telling the truth when they questioned him about what happened he was adamant that he had not done it
and Armstrong says the evidence backs up his client starting with that surveillance tape from shortly before
the murder Mark was laughing he and Raul appeared to be interacting favorably and
they think if anyone was acting suspiciously that night it was Taylor gold gupta's lawyers say Taylor only
called 911 when Gupta ordered her to and she wouldn't tell the operator much of anything okay Taylor are you there
Taylor hello Taylor hello Taylor yeah yes hello I need you to talk to me the defense says that tape reveals
a lot about Taylor and Gupta you can hear him screaming call 911 what is the address of the emergency
[Applause] up he is bed he is sobbing he is [Music] begging no this is inconsistent with somebody
who hated this man so much that he had to stab him 11 times Paige and Armstrong say Gupta did everything he could to
keep his friend alive we know for a fact that he gave him CPR and they say that's why he's covered
in Mark's blood they argue much of the other forensic evidence at the crime scene is meaningless as well because
police were careless horrible mistakes were made and the lawyers think Taylor acted too
deliberately that night considering she claimed not to remember what happened there is evidence that before
the first responders could get there she changed her clothes not once but twice how did she get blood all over her
legs her hands her dress how did the blood get on the dress I mean maybe maybe I was by Mar
before r i mean I I have no idea you had the wherewithal to change your clothes yet you can't remember how you got the
blood on you I'm telling you the truth goop Do's lawyers say the these photos show Taylor could have been
responsible there were two very peculiar marks on her hand located just below the
knuckle of the little finger if you stab someone with the knife with any reasonable degree of force it's possible
that your hand will slide down the knife and it will hit the bottom of the handle
paig and Armstrong say Tor was strong enough to stab Mark to death despite her size and we asked the medical examiner
who could do this she said quote any healthy adult police believe Mark W fought his attacker and the lawyers say
there is evidence that Taylor gold was in a fight her fingernails were bloody and one was broken one of her contact
lenses was stuck to the back of Mark's jeans and there was something else long blonde hair just like Taylor's was found
on the murder weapon found wrapped around the knife never tested and it wasn't just on the knife
more long blonde hair was stuck in a blood stain on the wall and even in Mark W's hand clutched in his hand as he lies
dead on the floor the hair was never tested but it was assumed to belong to Taylor gold but the prosecutors say it
doesn't matter because she lived there there were strand of hair of hers throughout the apartment in every room
there is a mountain of Reasonable Doubt Ro Gupta did not do it Mark wall was stabbed by Rahul Gupta what she did was
most likely nothing the prosecutors say they became convinced Taylor gold is innocent largely because she admitted
she could be guilty I can't myself imagine doing that right so I'm just confused cuz like I'm not trying to put
the blame on the wrong she's trying to be truthful in describing the fact that she does not
have a memory of what happened in that apartment that gives her credibility in your book it does but the defense
lawyers believe whatever Taylor and Gupta said to police should not overshadow what they said to each other
about 5 hours after they arrived at police headquarters in an unusual move their interrogators brought them
together and left them alone to see what happened that was probably the second time in 10 years that I done it maybe
one of them would say something that would make us go did you hear that what happened he what happened to mark this
conversation could make the difference between who goes home and who goes on trial for murder use that Mark or
no Rahul Gupta and Taylor gold had been talking to police for about 5 hours when
detective Paula Hamill made that unusual strategic decision to let them talk to each
other you okay yeah if gupto was acting for the detectives he was staying in character in a performance with Taylor
you use that Mark or no I don't think like I wouldn't do that why would I attack
someone gupa kept trying to blame Taylor what happened between you two and she kept not quite denying that she did it
did they have some conversation before the police got there to say I'll I'll say I don't know you say you don't know
and maybe they'll never find out but the conversation between Taylor and Rahul at
times sure sounded unscripted I want to poop I want to eat I'm hungry go out there and tell them
that I want my lawyer and I want to get the here I need to out of here dude and after that meeting Taylor Made what
sounds like another ambiguous remark to detective Hamill you know if I did it I don't I don't want him to get hurt in
this process but after more than 5 hours at Police Headquarters Taylor was released and Gupta was soon charged with
murdering Mark wall why did you believe her and not him I don't know that we believed either one of them but at the
end of that day there was more evidence to support his being responsible for the
murder than her is there any chance that Rahul and Taylor did this together no I
don't believe knowingly that they did this together a year and a half after Mark
wall was killed Dan moris of the Washington Post was in court to cover Rahul gupta's murder trial cameras
weren't allowed right away you're sort of wondering how this defense is going to play out I want you to have the
opportunity to answer this as directly as possible did your brother Rahul Gupta kill mark wall no he did not and you're
certain of that I'm 100% certain of that but Gupta did confess to murder even though he later changed his mind so
in opening arguments his lawyers made some bold promises they promised he would take the stand and they promised
to show not only is he not the murderer but Taylor gold is she isn't on trial but she will be a
witness and gupta's lawyers will get to cross-examine Taylor so while prosecutors Timothy
Hagen and Patrick Mays officially prosecute Gupta they also have to unofficially defend Taylor somebody who
murders someone in this fashion you would expect to be covered in blood one person in that apartment was covered in
blood R Gupta the defense maintains Gupta got the blood on him when he gave Mark CPR
and they say Taylor had more than enough blood on her to be guilty including spots inside
her dress and on her bra and gupta's lawyers want the jury to focus on those blond hairs on the knife and in Mark's
hand what are the chances that there's going to be hair on the knife hair in the hands hair on the wall and she says
she has no involvement in this case how would Taylor Gold's blonde hair end up in Mark W's hand any number of
possibilities we're talking about a dirty apartment we aren't talking about a clump of hair we're talking about a
strand Taylor wasn't much help in clearing anything up on the stand even in front of a jury she said she just
didn't remember because she'd blacked out from all the drinking by the time she said it over and over again it's
somewhat credible if she had done it the easiest thing in the world for her to do now was
to point the finger at him but she never does that except on the stand she finally
says she did not kill mark she says she's not capable of it but from the beginning there was a sense that if
there was a bombshell in this trial it would come from Rahul gupa when he took the
stand people were just hanging on this guy's words and it's a cliche but you could have heard a pin
drop gupto was calm and composed he testified that after arriving home he'd argued with Taylor
about whether she'd been flirting with Josh White at the bar and he told the jury something he
hadn't told police he said he tripped and hit his head right before Mark was killed when R gooped up sat back up from
falling this entire event had gone on all around him and that he hadn't noticed it on Cross examination Pat Mae
confronts Gupta about how such a brutal attack could have happened in such a small space without him
noticing and then Maize launches an attack of his own offering texts suggesting Taylor and gupta's
relationship was in trouble and that he would never have confessed just to protect her and then he hits him with
these texts about Taylor complaining about their sex life and he's saying well you were willing to spend the rest
of your life in prison for this young lady that is complaining to you about your performance in bed they Cherry
Picked a half a dozen texts over two years and we gave them back very similar texts that indicated they had a very
loving relationship we know that this was a rocky relationship at best mark goop Do's lawyers think it's critical
for jurors to know that he maintained his innocence in that taped discussion with
Taylor but it won't work because in a potentially crucial decision I don't know what
happened the judge rules that the jury cannot see it the guy who's on trial says I didn't do this to his girlfriend
did you and she says I don't know and the jury never got to hear it but the jury did get an earful of another
recording I have a free call from and that one could decide this case yeah can you hear me yeah I can what
happened after after nearly 15 hours in custody Rahul Gupta made a phone call he
called his father where are you I'm in jail like most calls from most jails this one was
recorded Gupta told his father what happened in the apartment what happened Mar and I got into a fight and he tried
to get a knife and then I the knife it's hard to hear but it sounded to lawyers on both sides like Gupta
admitted holding the knife the jury will decide for itself I a knife he's still traumatized by what happened it doesn't
make any rational sense it doesn't unless he's telling his father the truth and he might be telling his father the
truth if it weren't for the fact that all of the scientific evidence points in the opposite
direction in their closing argument prosecutors say that the jury doesn't have to take their word about Gupta
being guilty who who who who did you get him to fight with they can take guptas Mark it's the first and the last
statements that he makes and in between there he tries a number of different [Music]
lies the state has made a strong case against Gupta but Dan Moore says on the witness stand Gupta made a pretty strong
case of his own I thought he might pull this off how did he present himself I thought he did really good I mean he was
raahul you know he was him as the jury begins to deliberate the stakes for the prosecution could not be
higher if Rahul Gupta is not convicted of murdering Mark wall chances are nobody ever will be because the state
has already argued Taylor gold is not the killer the jury takes less than a day to
decide a Montgomery County jury today found Rahul gooped up guilty of killing his best
friend the verdict guilty our son Mark all I can say it was a gift from God and the sentence life in
prison is what Mark W's family was hoping for his murderer was a sin not just on his family but on the
community as a whole I mean it was devastating how do you deal with that how do you absorb
that um when you don't have a choice you just do it we feel very strongly he didn't get a fair
trial goop's lawyers believe the judge should have allowed the jury to see that tape of goop talking to Taylor what
happed to Mark I don't know at Police Headquarters I don't know I'm freaking out okay I don't this is important stuff
that goes right to the issue of guilt or innocence is Taylor gold an innocent bystander in all of this yes purely
innocent we believe so yes I feel comfortable that she wasn't held criminally responsible in the
murder detective Paula Hamill maintains Taylor gold is legally not guilty but she believes Taylor may have
played some role in what happened that night Miss gold could have set up an environment that caused Mr Gupta to
become upset I also still do believe that she was possibly involved in a relationship with the victim behind Mr
GTA's back Taylor gold did not want to discuss that night or anything else with 48 Hours she's getting an MBA and moving
on with her life Miss gold has something that she has to carry for the rest of her
life Shireen gupto Rapaport says Rahul does too [Music] the family is doing what they can to
help him transition from Life in this kind of institution to life in this kind Rahul and us you know we're determined
to make the best of this however that might be I don't think we have a choice but Rahul is still in their lives
at the end of the day I'm grateful that I have my brother you know he's still somebody I can go
and talk to I can visit I can write to him she says all the goop do know that's more than Mark W's parents have while I
can talk to my brother you know they can't talk to Mark his death is a tragedy that we must carry for the rest
of our [Music] lives [Music] [Music] he

Three friends walk into a studio apartment, and only two come out alive. At least one of them is a killer, but which one? "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger investigates. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

The episode details the murder of Mark Wall and the ensuing investigation of his friends Rahul Gupta and Taylor Gold, leading to Gupta's conviction.

Key points

A Violent Murder Unfolds. The story begins with a brutal murder involving three promising young adults.
The Night of the Murder. A birthday celebration turns deadly as Mark Wall is stabbed to death.
Confession or Cover-up?. Rahul Gupta confesses to killing his friend Mark, but is it the truth?
Interrogation Tactics. Detective Paula Hamill questions Taylor and Rahul, but their stories don't add up.
Evidence Against Taylor. Prosecutors focus on Taylor as evidence mounts against her involvement.
The Mountain of Doubt. A significant amount of reasonable doubt surrounds the case against Taylor Gold.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I don't remember what happened.

Taylor's statement during the investigation.

2:43WatchNov 12, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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