Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty In Kaushik Patel Case

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Jul 9, 2008 7:20PM

DuPage County prosecutors have announced they intend to seek the death penalty in the case of Kaushik Patel, a Glendale Heights man who doused his sons in gasoline and set them on fire last November. Both boys died earlier this year from injuries related to the incident: Om, 4, in January and Vishv, 7, in February. Patel was also severely injured in the fire and has been the DuPage County jail on a $10 million cash bond since he was released in mid-February.

On the night of November 18, 2007, Patel allegedly doused his two sons and himself in gasoline and lit the fire, though he contends that his intent was only to harm himself, claiming it was a suicide attempt. After the fire, Patel drove the boys to his brother's house in Hanover Park where a relative called 911. In a March interview with the Daily Herald, Patel said, "It wasn't murder. No one understands. I love my kids. I was not trying to kill them, only me." Patel claims to have been suicidal stemming from family problems involving his live-in mother-in-law from his 1997 arranged marriage to the boys' mother, Nishaben. Authorities, though, don't believe Patel, citing the boys' more serious injuries and an alleged incriminating statement Patel made to his brother.

A date for the trial has yet to be set and might not occur for more than a year. Patel has already pleaded not guilty. [Trib, DH]