Doctor Testifies in His Own Defense

A Pasadena pediatrician accused of murdering a colleague testified Thursday that he met his victim, Dr. Deepti Gupta, in 1998, when she applied for a job at the Pasadena medical practice where he worked.

“One day I saw a resume on my desk and it was Deepti’s,” Kevin Anderson, 41, told jurors during his opening testimony at his murder trial. “I was happy to see Dr. Gupta join the team. She was a young doctor. She was a good doctor.”

But prosecutors say that on Nov. 11, 1999, Anderson strangled Gupta on the Angeles Crest Highway in the mountains above Pasadena. The prosecutors say that, after careful planning, Anderson killed Gupta to cover up their affair and her pregnancy, which threatened his marriage, career and financial success.

Michael Abzug, Anderson’s attorney, has conceded that his client killed Gupta. But the lawyer said it was an impulsive act that occurred during a stargazing trip. Abzug says Anderson turned violent after Gupta threatened the pediatrician’s daughter as the two physicians argued over their relationship and their failed business partnership.

If jurors agree with Abzug, Anderson would stand a better chance of escaping the death penalty.

Deputy. Dist. Atty. Marian M.J. Thompson has maintained that money, not impulse, drove Anderson to carry out a well-planned murder.

Abzug questioned Anderson for about 45 minutes Thursday, asking about his education, career history and early business relationship with Gupta. Today, Abzug and the prosecutor are expected to get to the night Gupta was killed.

Anderson said he didn’t have a romance with Gupta until after she quit the Pasadena practice because of a disagreement with its head physician in March 1999.

The defendant said that a month later, Gupta called him and asked if he was interested in going into practice together.