Manishkumar M. Patel is back in Outagamie County after he skipped out on a $750,000 cash bond nearly a decade ago. While that was a sizable bond, it pales in comparison to the whopping $50 million figure set by Outagamie County Court Commissioner Brian Figy.
Patel, 43, formerly of the town of Kaukauna, is accused of spiking his girlfriend’s drink with an abortion-inducing drug. She didn’t ingest the drink but miscarried weeks later. He’s facing charges of attempted homicide, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, placing foreign objects in edibles, possession with intent to deliver prescription drugs, stalking, burglary, possession of burglary tools, and two counts of violating a harassment restraining order.
Manishkumar Patel, 43, is being held on seven felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child, stalking, burglary, and jumping bail. The Indian American businessman faces 100 years in prison, if convicted on the charges.
Wisconsin has high consequences for harming a fetus. Since 1998, the state has ruled that “the killing of an ‘unborn child’ at any stage of pre-natal development is first-degree intentional homicide,” according to the state’s penal code.
According to court records and media reports, Patel, who is married, began an affair with physician Darshana Patel in 2001. In 2004, the couple had a son. In 2006, Darshana again became pregnant, but miscarried. The following year, she became pregnant again.
Darshana Patel told police she became suspicious when she watched Manishkumar stir a smoothie at an ice cream store and then offered it to her. She noticed a powdery substance on the rim of the cup, and sent it off to a lab for testing.
The substance turned out to be RU-486 – mifepristone – an abortion drug that is only administered by doctors. Darshana faked a stomach ache and did not ingest any of the drug-laced smoothie offered by her boyfriend, but miscarried nonetheless a few weeks later.
The paramour lodged a criminal complaint against her boyfriend in November 2007. Police searching Manishkumar Patel’s home found an envelope containing RU-486 pills. The suspect later told police he had obtained the drugs in India. He admitted to giving Darshana one pill.
Patel told investigators he didn’t need or want any more babies. At the time of his arrest, he owned 14 gas stations, a hotel, and other businesses in Wisconsin, but estimated his net worth at just $400,000.
After his arrest in 2007, friends and family members gathered $750,000 to get the suspect released. Manishkumar Patel fled the country shortly after, and was believed to be hiding in India until last October, when he flew to Toronto, Canada.
Customs and Border Patrol arrested the fugitive on Jan. 19, in Bangor, New York. The CBP said in a statement that they initially let Patel’s car go through when it looked as though there was only a driver in the car. A few hours later, the CBP encountered the same vehicle which now had a passenger – Patel – and became suspicious of an alien smuggling attempt. The name of Patel’s wife is unknown, and it is unclear whether the couple still remains married. Patel’s son by Darshana is now 13.
