WASHINGTON — A Maryland man charged with murdering his wife with a blow from a kitchen knife inside a Hanover Dunkin’ Donuts now faces a federal charge of fleeing to avoid prosecution.
The FBI announced Wednesday a $20,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of Bhadreshkumar C. Patel, 24 of Hanover.
A federal criminal complaint says that Patel was last seen at a hotel near Newark International Airport a few days after his wife was killed. Federal investigators say he had taken with him his India-issued passport.
A taxi driver told investigators that she picked up Patel across the street from the Dunkin’ Donuts, where his wife’s body was found the night of April 12, and then drove him to a Best Western in Newark, New Jersey, near the airport there.
Investigators believe Patel fled Maryland to escape the state charges he faces here, which include first- and second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault.
Investigators believe that Patel is still in the United States.
Investigators have no evidence that he boarded a plane and left the country. The FBI also put a hold on Patel’s passport, which should prevent him from crossing the border.
Patel, who was born in Gujarat, India, was in the United States legally, but his visa expired at the end of March, the FBI says.
Patel is described as weighing 165 pounds, is about 5-foot-9 and has brown eyes and brown hair. Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
The FBI also plans to put up billboards along the Northeast corridor to help locate Patel.
Patel struck his wife, Palak Patel, 21, across the face with a large, kitchen-style knife. The blow caused “massive trauma which led to her death,” according to the federal complaint.
Police found his wife’s body lying in the kitchen area of the Dunkin’ Donuts at 7657 Arundel Mills Blvd. She had been struck multiple times with an object, police said at the time.
Both Patels worked at the doughnut shop.
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report from Millersville.
