Overview
- Abhijit Patel, 28, is charged with first-degree murder in the November 29 death of his father, 67-year-old Anupam Patel, at their Schaumburg home.
- Patel surrendered to police and told investigators he believed he had a religious duty to kill his father, alleging childhood abuse that prosecutors say doctors deem delusional.
- Prosecutors say Patel admitted bringing a sledgehammer into his father’s bedroom while he was awake and striking him multiple times before leaving the weapon nearby.
- An autopsy found at least two blunt-force blows to the head that fractured the victim’s skull and broke his nose, and officers recovered a sledgehammer at the scene.
- Court records show Patel is barred from contacting his mother, remained in the family home despite an active protection order through January 2027, and is due back in court on December 19.