Earlier we wrote about the beginning stages of the court case of 37-year-old Mitesh Patel who was accused of killing his wife Jessica Patel. Mr. Patel was a prime suspect in the case and it was discovered that he had been cheating on his wife with various men using Grindr.
Now, the plot thickens as the trial unfurls with more details on the murder of Jessica Patel and the possible motives that Mitesh had to kill his wife.
Jessica was murdered by strangulation and suffocation with a plastic bag around her head. She was found bound by duct tape at the wrists and ankles. Mitesh called the police and said he was out and when he returned the home had been burglarized and she was dead. Authorities began to suspect Mitesh because he had scratches on his neck and then found the hard drive to their home security system buried in a suitcase. Not to mention, Mitesh had recently taken out a $2 million life insurance policy on his wife and also inquired about a will for he and his wife stating that the other would get everything should one of them die. Mitesh told police that the scratch was an injury he incurred at the gym, but his DNA was found under his wife’s fingernails.
One of the most horrific pieces of evidence is that Mitesh sent a text message to his wife asking her if he should order some pizza after the time she is assumed to have already been killed.
GazetteLive reports on the latest updates on the trial of this man who was leading a double life.
Several witnesses spoke on the trial that began presenting evidence on Thursday.
Jessica Patel’s uncle, Sharadkumar Patel shared that in 2012 Jessica mentioned to him that their marriage would not be going forward because they were having marital and intimacy issues. Mitesh would come home from work and go into another room to speak to another man, a doctor who lived in Australia.
The prosecution shared with jurors:
You will, however, hear that by the beginning of 2012, Mitesh Patel had met the man of his dreams.
The evidence shows that this relationship was not only passionate but that the two were in it with a view to spending the longest possible time together.
By February of that year, 2012, Mitesh Patel was to tell this man that he was the one for whom he had been waiting for nine years.
By the end of April just four months after they’d met, they were planning a life together in Australia.
It was also presented that from 2013-2018 Mitesh had searched the following phrases online:
- “I need to kill my wife”
- “insulin overdose”
- “plot to kill my wife, why do I need co-conspirators”
- “life after loss of spouse”,
- “finding your way after losing a spouse”,
- “coping with the death of your spouse”,
- “The death of spouse, rebuilding your life after the first year”
- “how do I arrange a funeral”
- how much methadone will kill you
According to court reporting, Jessica had shared with her sister Divya that Mitesh had been violent toward her by putting his hands around her neck and sharing that he sometimes hurt her.
A pharmacy employee also shared that Patel would bring men into the pharmacy’s back door and lead him into the back to have sex. There is also footage of Mitesh kissing and cuddling with other men in the pharmacy. Men that his wife and the employee knew he was meeting on Grindr.
The Teesside Crown Court was presented with a series of text messages demonstrating the couple’s dealings with IVF. In a text message conversation on July 26, 2017 they discussed:
Mitesh Patel said:
Listen to me. If you still don’t want to do it, just say. We can stop, cancel and go our own ways. I’m being honest with you. I’ve done nothing wrong. I can’t carry on like this.
Jessica Patel:
Just think, you’re not being honest with me.
Mitesh:
Well that’s up to you. I’m not going through this every day. If we do the IVF I don’t want there to be any cracks in us. The way we behave with each other, that’ll affect our child.
Jessica:
Those texts and images tell me a different story to what you’re saying. I did say you’ll be forgiven. I want to be a mother and always have felt that since I got married. To have my own little family was my dream. I think it would be right to cancel for now.
Mitesh:
I think you’re mad. You can forgive me but I won’t forgive you for this.
Earlier in 2018 the couple vacationed in India where Mitesh Patel paid for a male prostitute. He also began looking for properties in Sydney while his wife continued IVF treatment.
The prosecution also presented several other pieces of evidence that Mitesh was engaging in sexual relations with other men in the home he shared with his wife. The prosecution said, however, that Mitesh asserts they had no secrets and does admit to meeting a ‘handful’ of men on Grindr.
The trial over the death of Jessica Patel continues, but this evidence is very clear.
h/t: GazetteLive
