31-year-old Ankur Patel, an Indian-origin Chicago man, killed his estranged wife, who left him and started dating another man. The incident took place in August when Patel lured his wife across the country on the pretext of allowing her to meet their five-year-old daughter. The woman’s name was not released. According to reports, the woman left Patel in May and began dating one of their former colleagues.Out of family pressure, the woman gave Patel another chance and briefly moved back with him in Wisconsin. But she moved out shortly thereafter, allowing their daughter to remain with Patel. According to prosecutors, Patel proceeded to make threats over the phone to kill both the woman and the man she started dating after their breakup. He also stopped allowing the woman to speak with their daughter.Two weeks before the premeditated murder took place, Patel moved in with relatives in Chicago and sent his daughter to live with his parents in India. But he did not tell this to his estranged wife and instead invited her to meet the daughter. The woman had moved to Louisiana with the new man she had been seeing and she, along with the new boyfriend, drove to Chicago to get the child.Patel was seen purchasing a small folding knife on the surveillance cameras of a store. In the video, he was seen making stabbing and slicing motions with the knife. Then he went to the apartment where he asked his wife to come.Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara said Patel’s exchange with the woman was also recorded in surveillance footage. They initially argued as Patel expressed his desire to reunite. Patel allegedly recorded portions of the argument on his phone, but no physical violence was seen. At some point afterward, Pekara said, Patel brandished the knife and stabbed the woman in the neck. An autopsy later found that she had also suffered multiple defensive wounds, including a deep laceration to her left arm.The new boyfriend was outside the building and he repeatedly messaged the woman. Then he called 911 and explained the situation to them. Chicago Police Department tried to contact both the woman and Patel but could not reach either of them. Officers came to the site but they had to leave as the new boyfriend id not know which apartment the woman had entered.The same night, Patel made a plan with his friends, but he did not turn up. The friends went to the apartment looking for him and they found the woman lying near a washing machine and called 911.By that time, Patel reached O’Hare International Airport, but as the ticket counter was closed, he could not buy a ticket to India. He checked into a nearby hotel where he disposed of the knife. He visited a Target store where he used his debit card to buy new shoes and clothes.The next day, he returned to the airport and purchased a ticket to India but the Department of Homeland Security had already been alerted and he was arrested. He later told the police that he did not want to kill his wife but “finished her” when she told him that she would stay with the new boyfriend and wont’ return to Patel.
