Palak Patel died inside a Dunkin’ Donut in Maryland.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: The 24-year-old man accused of killing his wife in a Hanover, Maryland Dunkin’ Donuts may have fled the country, according to an affidavit filed Monday at the U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
The document also revealed further details about the night Bhadreshkumar Patel allegedly murdered his young wife.
A special agent with the FBI testified in the affidavit that the Patels were working together at the Dunkin Donuts on Arundel Mills Boulevard when Bhadreshkumar struck his wife, Palak Patel, 23, across the face with a “large kitchen style knife,” causing the massive trauma which led to her death.
Investigators had previously released they believed Palak Patel was bludgeoned multiple times with an object.
Local NBC affiliate WBAL previously reported police were called to the Hanover donut shop shortly before 11 p.m. on April 12 after patrons found it odd that no one was minding the front of the business.
When officers responded, they found employee Palak Patel prone and injured in the establishment’s kitchen. She was alive when authorities reached her, but was later pronounced dead at the scene.
County police discovered Bhadreshkumar had retrieved his passport, issued in India, from his home the very next day, according to the affidavit. It is unclear how long he had been residing in the United States.
Three days afterward, on April 16, a witness who positively identified Bhadreshkumar from a photograph told investigators she drove Bhadreshkumar in a taxi from a location near the Dunkin’ Donuts to a Best Western hotel in Newark, New Jersey, just outside of Newark International Airport.
Authorities are now trying to determine whether Bhadreshkumar boarded a flight, and the Anne Arundel State’s Attorney’s Office and county police have requested FBI assistance to locate and apprehend him.
The affidavit revealed State’s Attorney Wes Adams has approved extradition of Bhadreshkumar from wherever he may be located.
WBAL disclosed Bhadreshkumar Patel will face a plethora of charges once apprehended, including first and second degree murder, first and second degree assault, and a weapons charge.