FBI, police still searching for man 10 years after alleged murder of wife in Anne Arundel County
It has been ten years since the murder of Palak Patel at an Anne Arundel County Dunkin' Donuts.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department and FBI are now offering $250,000 for information leading to the arrest of Bhadreshkumar Patel, who they allege has evaded authorities since killing his wife on April 12, 2015.
Palak, described by loved ones as caring and kind, was a 21-year-old aspiring teacher who looked forward to having children someday.
"A beautiful life…stolen," Anne Arundel County Chief of Police Amal Awad said.
After marrying Bhadreshkumar Patel in India in 2013, the couple came to the U.S. on visas. But by 2015, their visas had expired, and Palak was missing her family and ready to go home.
"However, at that time, Bhadreshkumar had no intention of returning to India, which caused friction between the couple," Justin Mulcahy, a public information officer with Anne Arundel County Police Department, said.
On the night of the murder, she and her husband were working together at the Dunkin' Donuts location at 7657 Arundel Mills Boulevard in Hanover when she spoke with family members about her desire to return to India.
"During their shift at the Dunkin' Donuts, Palak was on the phone with her family, planning their return to India. Bhadreshkumar became enraged and fatally attacked Palak that night," Mulcahy explained.
Bhadreshkumar beat Palak and stabbed her multiple times with a large kitchen knife.
Last known movements
Police said that in the hours of Patel's murder, Bhadreshkumar worked to evade capture. He allegedly returned to the couple's residence, gathered his personal belongings, and hired a taxi to take him to Newark, New Jersey - roughly 200 miles from the crime scene.
There, he stayed at a Best Western, and the next morning, surveillance cameras captured Bhadreshkumar's last known movements at Newark-Penn Station, after which he vanished.
"Palak Patel was described as the most caring and kind person by those who knew and loved her. She was brutally murdered at the hands of her husband, however, the passage of time does not diminish our resolve to bring justice for Palak and her family," Chief Awad said. "We are grateful for our partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in this investigation, and we urge anyone with information to come forward."
Bhadreshkumar was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List in 2017. Despite hundreds of tips from the public, he remains at large.
Anne Arundel County Police Department and the FBI say they never let up on the investigation and won't stop until they find him.
"As long as Bhadreshkumar Patel remains free, continuing to elude law enforcement, no intimate partner involved with this evil degenerate will be safe until he's taken into custody," Chief Awad added.
Patel will turn 35 in May.
Other Maryland cold cases
Last month, Howard County Police said they solved the murder of a 20-year-old woman, Roseann Sturtz, after nearly 50 years.
In December 1975, Sturtz was found dead in a wooded area of Columbia, near what is now Oakland Ridge Industrial Park off Route 108.
Police said a closer look at the evidence led them to Charles William David Jr., a convicted killer in his 70s. David confessed to the crime, police said.
In a more recent case, police arrested a man accused of fatally shooting a pregnant woman and her baby.
Edward Robinson, 31, of Columbia, was taken into custody on April 9. Police said that in July 2020, he fired gunshots into a home on Dovecote Drive in Columbia, where several people were living.
Detectives said bullets found at the scene matched a gun found in Robinson's home.