Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel (born May 15, 1990) is an Indian fugitive wanted for allegedly killing his wife Palak Patel at a

Dunkin' Donuts DD IP Holder LLC, doing business as Dunkin', and originally Dunkin' Donuts, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company, as well as a quick service restaurant. It was founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 19 ...

store in

Hanover, Maryland Hanover is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the Baltimore/Annapolis area in northwestern Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County and eastern Howard County, Maryland, Howard County in the U.S. state of Maryland, locate ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on April 12, 2015. He was last seen at

Newark Penn Station Newark Penn Station is an intermodal passenger station in Newark, New Jersey. One of the New York metropolitan area's major transportation hubs, Newark Penn Station is served by multiple rail and bus carriers, making it the seventh busiest rai ...

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

, the day after the killing. He was added to the

FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William ...

list on April 18, 2017. Bhadreshkumar was the 514th fugitive to be placed on the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

Background

Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel was born on May 15, 1990 in

Viramgam Viramgam is a town and former princely state in the Indian state of Gujarat. The town is located in the Ahmedabad district, which contains the city of Ahmedabad, the state's largest city. Gateway Distriparks notably flagged off the first ex ...

, Gujarat, India. In November 2013, he married Palak Patel, and the couple came together to visit relatives in the

in September 2014. Bhadreshkumar was 24 at the time, while Palak was 21.

Killing

On the night of April 12, 2015, Bhadreshkumar and Palak were working a night shift at a Dunkin' Donuts located on Arundel Mills Boulevard in

. The store was owned by a relative of Bhadreshkumar whom the couple were visiting. Surveillance footage showed Bhadreshkumar and Palak walking together in the kitchen at around 9:30 p.m. before disappearing out of view behind some racks. Moments later, Bhadreshkumar re-emerged without his wife, turned off an oven, and left the store. The body of 21-year-old Palak Patel was found later that night. She had been beaten to death and stabbed multiple times with a large kitchen knife. Investigators believe the couple had an argument, with Palak wanting to return to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and Bhadreshkumar wishing to remain in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

instead.

Aftermath

Customers arriving at the Dunkin' Donuts store grew concerned when no employees came to serve them. A police officer who happened to be near the store was approached by concerned customers and checked out the scene. Upon searching the store, the officer found Palak's body. Police then checked the surveillance video and realized the killer was Bhadreshkumar, who had vanished. Bhadreshkumar was not identified as the suspect until over an hour after the killing, giving him time to escape. After the killing of Palak, Bhadreshkumar fled the store and returned to his nearby apartment on foot. He took some personal items and then got a cab to a hotel near

Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport is a major international airport serving the New York metropolitan area. The airport straddles the boundary between the cities of Newark, New Jersey, Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County and E ...

. The taxi driver reported that Bhadreshkumar was very calm during the journey. He checked into a hotel in Newark and was seen on surveillance video at the counter paying in cash for a room. He checked out the following morning. Bhadreshkumar was last seen on the morning of April 13, 2015, around 10 a.m. at

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He took a hotel shuttle to the station and has not been seen since.

Investigation

Authorities believe Bhadreshkumar could have fled the country or could be hiding with relatives. He had a

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

to be in the

, but it had expired by the time he carried out the killing. A report stated that because of this, there was no indication he was able to legally leave the country. An investigation with Palak's family into the killing revealed that the last conversation she had with them was about wishing to return home to

. This call was made moments before Palak was killed by her husband and had been overheard by him. Police believe that Bhadreshkumar then argued with his wife and killed her for this reason. Bhadreshkumar has connections in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

and the U.S. states of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. A reward of up to $250,000 is available for information that leads to his whereabouts.

References

External links