Judge Refuses to Lower Bond for Man Accused of Killing Mark Edward Waugh

A Montgomery County judge on Tuesday refused to lower the $2 million bond set for the 24-year-old graduate engineering student who is accused of killing Mark Edward Waugh of Great Falls.

Rahul Gupta, a McLean man who reportedly lived with his girlfriend in Silver Spring, Md., appeared at the hearing via video feed, according to the Washington Post.

His attorney cited his exceptional track record at school — Gupta and Waugh were both honors students at Langley High School — and promising career and asked Judge William G. Simmons to lower the bond to $50,000 so the young man could be released.

Simmons declined, the Post reported.

Gupta and Waugh were out with friends this weekend celebrating Gupta's 24th birthday. They eventually made their way back to the Silver Spring apartment and continued drinking, according to the Montgomery County police report.

Gupta is accused of stabbing his friend to death; he later told an officer that he thought his girlfriend was cheating on him with Waugh, according to the incident report. Waugh was a first-year law student at Georgetown and had a reputation as a talented debater.

Gupta allegedly used a knife pulled from a kitchen butcher block and cut Waugh up to eight times, striking his jugular, upper chest and back, the Post reported.

Investigators found Gupta "covered in blood" early Sunday morning and saw blood all over the walls of the apartment's kitchen and living room, the incident report states.

More:

• Lost Potential: Two Honors Students and 'Best Friends' and One Tragic, Violent Night
• Former Langley High School Honors Student Stabbed to Death; Friend Charged