As the manslaughter trial of a Pittsburgh man accused of the death of a fellow tourist last spring came to an end Thursday, both the defense and prosecution were able to agree on one thing: Abhishek Gupta’s death was a tragedy that didn’t need to happen.
“What also isn’t in dispute is that all three men were drinking that night,” said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Charles Murray in closing arguments in the case against Benjamin P. Fleming. “They drank all night. They drank from 4 p.m to 1:30 a.m. “
The fatal night began around 4 p.m. March 28, 2021, when Gupta, Fleming and Alexander Germany-Wald arrived at their condo at the Kona Mansions. The trio began drinking at the condo, and then went to Huggo’s, Sam’s Hideaway, Humpy’s Big Island Alehouse and Laverne’s Sports Bar. Gupta was eventually escorted out of Laverne’s by security.
Back at the condo, Gupta and Germany-Wald got into a physical altercation. According to testimony from police and Germany-Wald, Gupta was on top of his friend, repeatedly punching him, when Fleming intervened, putting Gupta into a chokehold that was intended to put him to sleep. He never woke up.
According to the prosecution, Gupta’s death was a reckless use of the chokehold by Fleming.
“Given the defendants state of mind at the time, a person acts recklessly,” Murray argued. “How do we know he was reckless? He told the police the wrong things when they showed up, which proves the defendant knew at the time he gave police statements that the chokehold would kill Mr. Gupta.”
The prosecution also highlighted the statement made by Pathologist Marina Schmidt, who argued the cause of death was asphyxiation — or not getting enough oxygen to the body. The victim also suffered a hyoid fracture and hemorrhaging in the neck muscles and brain.
“I examined Mr. Gupta internally,” the doctor explained. “I looked at the brain underneath the scalp. I saw bleeding, or hemorrhaging, which is not normal. There was also hemorrhaging in the neck muscles and a fracture. When you put pressure on the neck it can cut off the blood supply to the brain. Therefore, based on medical certainty, the cause of death is strangulation.”
The defense its their opening statement in closing: Gupta’s death was a tragedy, but not a crime.
“Both parts of that statement remains true,” said Thomas Otake, Fleming’s attorney. “It was a tragedy. But what else — it was not a crime. You can believe it’s a tragedy and have feelings of empathy but those things need to stay separate from deliberation.
“You can find Mr. Fleming not guilty and recognize the tragedy of it all,” he continued.
According to the defense, the chokehold was not long enough or strong enough to kill Gupta.
“It takes about a minute to kill someone in a chokehold,” Otake said.
Earlier in the trial, Germany-Wald testified that Fleming put Gupta in a chokehold for less than 10 seconds.
“If he was held that long in a strangulation chokehold — wouldn’t there be more bruising?” Otake said.
The defense maintained that jurors can have empathy and still come to a verdict of not guilty.
“Those two can coexist,” Otake concluded.
