Purvi Patel allegedly committed the crime in Indiana in 2012.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The long-awaited trial for Purvi Patel, the Indiana woman accused of inducing labor and dumping her newborn fetus in a dumpster, will begin this September.
It was previously reported that Patel’s trial would likely begin that month anyway, but last week, the South Bend Tribune confirmed that September 29 would be the date that the trial officially gets underway. Patel (32) was originally arrested for the crime all the way back in 2012, making her journey to trial an unusually long one.
She is accused of having taken drugs to abort a seven month-old fetus she was carrying inside her. The drugs induced labor, at which point Patel allegedly took the newborn fetus, put it in a plastic grocery bag, and tossed it into the dumpster behind a Moe’s Southwest Grill in Mishawaka, which her family owns.
An autopsy conducted by police showed that Patel cut the umbilical cord herself, but despite the fact that she put the baby in a plastic bag – which should have suffocated the fetus and stifled its chances for living – the baby was apparently alive when Patel dumped it, and that it may have even been breathing before it ultimately perished.
Last year, Patel was charged with Class A neglect, and just last month, was said to be hearing plea deal offers from prosecutors. This is months after the original October and November start dates for the trial, which came and went as Patel’s attorney, Jeff Sanford, negotiated for more delays.
Even now, Sanford is reportedly trying to delay the case another couple of months, but St. Joseph Superior Court has set the trial date for the end of September. It is not known how much time Patel faces, nor if she is still entertaining offers for plea deals.