Kaushik Patel

Case summary

Kaushik Patel pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison on May 18, 2010 for the deaths of his sons, Om and Vishv, who were burned after gasoline was poured on them. Patel survived the burns he sustained in the incident and later stated he never gave a reason for what he did to the boys.

Timeline

• Nov. 18, 2007 — Patel poured gasoline on his sons Om and Vishv and set them on fire in the family Glendale Heights home.
• Jan. 17, 2008 — Om died of his injuries.
• Feb. 19, 2008 — Vishv died of his injuries.
• Feb. 27, 2009 — Vishv, while in a hospital burn unit, provided graphic details to his mother about how his father doused him and his brother with gasoline in a bath tub and then set them on fire.
• May 18, 2010 — Patel was sentenced to life in prison.

The offence

Patel doused his sons, Om (4) and Vishv (7), with gasoline and then set them on fire in the family Glendale Heights home. One account described the incident as occurring after Patel purchased a basin and gasoline, bathed the boys, and then brought the jug of gasoline and a lighter into the bathroom. Patel stated that as he doused himself with gas, the boys ran into the bathroom and he accidentally doused them from head to toe with at least half a gallon of gas. He stated that he did not know how the fire was ignited and that he did not intend to set the boys on fire.

Victims

Patel’s sons died from their injuries after months of agonizing treatment. Om died on Jan. 17, 2008. Vishv died on Feb. 19, 2008.

Investigation and pre-trial events

Two Glendale Heights police officers who were at the Loyola Medical Center on Jan. 13, 2008 said that Vishv’s comments were slow and deliberate and that he had to catch his breath after every few words. The police brought a video camera to record the young boy’s comments after being told by the mother the statements he had made the previous day, but hospital personnel would not allow the equipment in the burn unit.

Arrest and detention

Patel was held on $10 million bail. He was interviewed from the DuPage County Jail, speaking through a glass window at the DuPage County Jail.

Trial and pleas

Patel pleaded guilty several weeks after it was learned that prosecutors and Patel had reached a tentative plea agreement that would spare him the death penalty. DuPage County prosecutors and defense lawyers told a judge about the agreement and told the court that they would not seek the death penalty.

During the process leading up to the plea, Patel contended that he was trying to commit suicide and that the boys ran into the bathroom and accidentally got splashed with gasoline and caught on fire. Later, Patel also stated in a jailhouse interview with the Tribune that he did not remember lighting the fire. DuPage County States’ Attorney Joseph Birkett declined an offer from Patel to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, after considering the offer for several months before rejecting it.

Sentencing

At sentencing, Patel received a natural life sentence. DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett stated:

"In this case, I felt that the death penalty would have been an appropriate and just punishment." Birkett also stated: "However, after careful consideration of all the relevant factors, including the wishes of the victims’ mother, I agree to accept the defendant’s offer to plead guilty for a natural life sentence. The victims’ mother will never get over her loss, but at least she has the closure she hoped for and can move on with her life.”

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Other details

Patel contended early on that he was overwhelmed by family difficulties involving his wife and her mother, who came to live with them three years before the incident. Patel immigrated to the United States from India in 1992. After the couple’s arranged marriage in 1997, Patel waited two years for his wife to get a U.S. visa. Patel stated that after his mother-in-law arrived, his wife became increasingly critical and began to attend parties frequently. Patel described the treatment as “harassment” and said that his mother-in-law and wife “tortured” him.

Patel stated that on the night the boys were burned, the family was supposed to attend a friend’s party, but he told his wife to go ahead and that he would arrive later with the kids. He drove to Wal-Mart and bought a basin and then purchased gasoline. He described bringing the jug of gasoline and a lighter into the bathroom while bathing his two sons.

After the boys were burned, Patel placed the boys in his car and drove them to a home of another family member in Hanover Park, where that family member called police.

Patel’s wife was described as not home at the time of the incident, and Patel stated that while the boys were in drug-induced comas, his wife would visit him every couple of days and tell him: “What happened is so wrong. You can’t do something like this.”

At arraignment, Patel faced additional murder charges. A judge set a sentencing hearing for May 18.

Before dying, Vishv told his mother details about the incident. Assistant DuPage County State’s Attorney Alex McGimpsey said:

"Vishv said Daddy poured something over them and he knew it was gas, not water. It burned his eyes as it was poured over him." McGimpsey also said: "Vishv then said Dad stood up with a lighter, he heard some noise and him and his brother were hurt." McGimpsey also stated that Vishv told his mother that on the afternoon of Nov. 18, 2007, Patel took the boys to buy toy cars, stopped to buy some gasoline, and then went to the family home, and that Vishv said their father: "told them in get into the bathroom and to get into a green tub." Patel stated he has recurring dreams about his two sons, including one in which his sons plead with him: “Daddy, I want to come with you.”

The boys’ mother, Nishaben Patel, testified that Vishv told her how his father had doused the boys with petrol, including that Vishv told her:

"told them to get into the bathroom and get into a green tub." Vishv also told his mother that their father “told them to get into the bathroom and to get into a green tub.”