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Garima Kothari, 35, was found dead in her Christopher Columbus Drive apartment around 7:15 a.m., Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Around half-hour later, police found her 37-year-old husband dead in the Hudson River near Montgomery Street and Exchange Place, Suarez said.
The incident was being investigated as a murder-suicide, and Kothari's death was ruled a homicide, Suarez said Monday.
"While it remains at this time that these deaths are the result of a murder-suicide," said Suarez, "the final determination is still pending the complete findings of the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office."
Family members remembered Kothari and Mall as a "happy couple." They moved to the U.S. from India and in the last couple years opened Nukkad, an Indian restaurant, down the street from their Grove Pointe high-rise.
Mall came to the U.S. about a decade ago to pursue his master's degree at Columbia University. Kothari came a few years later, a designated family spokesperson told Daily Voice.
"Manmohan, a Columbia and IIT graduate, was a very intelligent and caring person," the family member told Daily Voice. "Garima, a talented chef, was extremely friendly and dedicated to her profession."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor at 201- 915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutor’s official website.
This is a developing story. Check back for more.
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