Episode 23: The Murders of Champaben and Anita Patel
Around 8am on March 21st, 1996, in Windsor, Connecticut, tragedy struck in the Patel household. 54-year-old Champaben Patel was home alone when an unknown perpetrator entered, wrapping duct tape around her hands and her face. Champaben subsequently died from suffocation and was then set aflame. While being attacked, her 32-year-old daughter Anita and her two young children came over, supposedly interrupting the assault.
Upon coming inside the home, Anita felt something was wrong and demanded her children to run away and get help. Anita was then attacked, except unlike her mother, she was stabbed 14 times. However, she survived this brutally stabbing, only to die from smoke inhalation as the attacker poured a ring of gasoline around her as she lay bleeding from her stab wounds. Luckily, her kids, aged 5 and 3, ran out of the home and were seen by a neighbor, who promptly called the police. They arrived to a smoldering fire and two dead bodies.
Immediately, the son of Champaben, Anita’s brother, Jatin Patel, was the main suspect. He had no alibi for the exact time period of when the murders would have occurred. Additionally, he was in the throws of a family feud with his mother. He had financial trouble, as well as some supposed marital trouble, given that he was spending over $3000 that he did not have on escorts. Investigators also summarized that the perpetrator most likely knew his victims, as there was no sign of forced entry and it was clear the attacker had prior knowledge of the home.
To this day, no one has been charged with the brutal murders. Jatin Patel remains a person of interest, due to his poor alibi and possible motive. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to please call the tip line at the chief state's attorney's office at 860-548-0606.
Image source:
c-hit.org - “State Police Take Another Look At Cold Case Murders of Patel Family”