Manishkumar Patel Sentenced to 22 years in Prison for Spiking Mistress Darshana Patel's Smoothie with illegal drug
Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Spiking Mistress’s Smoothie with Abortion Drug
APPLETON, Wisconsin — An Indian American Wisconsin man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after being convicted of spiking his pregnant girlfriend’s drink with an abortion-inducing drug.
Forty-five-year-old Manishkumar Patel was convicted in August of attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child. His girlfriend never drank the spiked beverage, but miscarried weeks later. (See India-West story here.)
Patel, 45, was sentenced Oct. 10 in Outagamie County, after he was found guilty in August of “attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child.”
Patel had been on the run since he was charged in 2007 and forfeited a $750,000 bond. He was arrested in January 2017 in New York.
Patel said in court he didn’t want another child because he was afraid the child would have the same medical problems as his son. But he said he realized that even if the child had medical issues, the child still would have had a life.
Before he was sentenced, Patel said in court: “I have had plenty of time to think about what I did. I have no excuse or explanation for my actions,” as reported by the Post Crescent.
Patel fled to India in 2007. He said in court that he was concerned about his aging father’s deteriorating health and wanted to see him for what he thought would be the last time. Patel also noted that he returned to the U.S. to resolve the pending charges against him. “I made the decision to return, even though I knew it would cost me my freedom,” he said.
Patel, who is married to another woman, and his mistress Darshana Patel have known each other since 1999 and have a child together, a son born in 2004. Manishkumar Patel initially denied he was the father of that child.
In 2006, Patel’s girlfriend was again pregnant but miscarried. Court documents do not indicate whether Patel was investigated for the previous miscarriage.
In 2007, as his mistress was once again pregnant, the duo went out for ice cream. The woman testified in court that Patel bought a smoothie, then put something into it and frantically stirred. She said she did not drink that smoothie, but miscarried nonetheless several weeks later.
After suffering her second miscarriage, Patel’s girlfriend sent a sample of the drink to a lab in California, which confirmed it had drugs to terminate pregnancies.
Police then searched Patel’s house and found drugs used to terminate pregnancies. Patel told police they were abortion pills and confessed to giving his girlfriend one.
Describing Patel's pattern of behavior as "completely unacceptable at all levels," Outagamie County District Attorney Melinda Tempelis questioned if he actually cared for his girlfriend during the proceeding, as reported by the International Business Times.
-- With AP reports
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