ARLINGTON, Va. — A trial date is set for a Maryland man charged with killing his lover’s ex-boyfriend last March.
Prosecutors contend that Jitesh Patel, 43, of Woodbine, Maryland, broke into 40-year-old John Giandoni’s Arlington town house and laid in wait for the victim to get home from work before torturing and killing him.
Giandoni had a previous relationship with Patel’s lover and shared a child with her. The two were in a custody battle over the boy, prosecutors said. The motive appears to stem from the complicated romantic web, but it’s still unclear why prosecutors allege Patel killed Giandoni.
At a November hearing where the details of the case were revealed, a medical examiner testified Giandoni was stabbed four times; shot twice, including in the head; and asphyxiated with zip ties around his mouth. She told a judge that Giandoni was alive during the time his air supply was being cut off and that he was being tortured in his north Arlington town home.
At Monday’s hearing, Patel waived his right to a speedy trial, which could have started as early as February. A judge set his jury trial to begin in July.
Editor’s Note: This story has been changed to reflect that Giandoni had a son, not a daughter.
