Background: The Schaumburg, Ill. neighborhood where Abhijit Patel allegedly killed his father (Google Maps). Inset: Abhijit Patel (Cook County Sheriff's Office).
An Illinois man called his mother while she was at work to tell her she "should go check" on his father after he allegedly killed him, officials say.
Abhijit Patel, 28, was arrested on Saturday and held without bond after he was charged with first-degree murder. He made his first court appearance on Monday, when Cook County prosecutors said that his mother tried calling her son and husband, 67-year-old Anupam Patel, while she was at work on Saturday morning. When no one picked up the phone, she went back to the couple's home in Schaumburg and saw her son, who told her "he had taken care of his father, and she should go check on him."
According to prosecutors, the woman found Anupam Patel in his bed, covered in blood.
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According to details provided to a local Patch reporter, Anupam Patel was a diabetic, and his wife monitored his glucose level via an app on her phone. He would reportedly call her at work at 8 a.m. to let her know what his glucose levels were. That Saturday, she did not get that call and became concerned when she saw that her husband's glucose levels were dropping.
Prosecutors said that when she arrived at the home at around 10:30 a.m., the garage was unlocked, which was unusual. She went inside and saw her son, who allegedly told her he used a sledgehammer to bludgeon his father to death. After finding her husband, she called 911.
When police arrived, Abhijit Patel put his hands up as he was detained. Police found a sledgehammer next to the bed where Anupam Patel's body lay. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. An autopsy revealed that he had been struck at least twice in the head and had a fractured skull and broken nose.
Police said that when they questioned Abhijit Patel, he told them he had a "religious duty" to kill his father. He claimed that his father purportedly abused him as a child, but that his doctors said his claims were "delusional." Court records obtained by local news outlet Arlington Cardinal stated that Abhijit Patel had previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Prosecutors said that Abhijit Patel had an order of protection against him that forbade him from contacting his father, whom he had threatened to kill before. The order went into effect in January 2025 and was meant to last until January 2027.
Abhijit Patel's disturbing behavior was not limited to his father, prosecutors said. In November 2024, he allegedly made concerning comments on social media and in group chats to his fellow students at the University of Illinois Chicago. He was banned from campus until he was evaluated by a psychiatrist.
Abhijit Patel was charged with first-degree murder and ordered by a judge to be held without bond. He was also ordered not to contact his mother. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 19.
