he stabbed her twice, yelling at her she was too fat
Navinkumar Patel a 46-year old Indian from Kansas, USA, stabbed his wife for being too fat and tried to kill her. However, his wife and relatives came to court to support him.
Navinkumar is the owner of the Super8 Motel in Lawrence, which is where the incident took place.
On June 25, 2015, Patel used a pocket knife in the frenzied attack on his wife, when he stabbed her twice, yelling at her she was too fat, as she sat down to eat a bowl of cereal at the motel.
She managed to get away from him and called for help.
When the police arrived at the scene, Patel took them to the motel’s office, passed the pocket knife he was holding to an officer and admitted to stabbing his wife.
Patel’s wife was then taken to a hospital for treatment.
In March 2016, he pleaded no contest to felony charges of attempted second-degree murder and criminal threat.
Subsequently, he was ordered to attend Larnard State Hospital for an evaluation of his mental health by the Douglas Country District Court Judge Robert Fairchild.
From the evaluation, it emerged that Patel suffers from bipolar disorder.
The doctor who evaluated him, Bradley Grainage testified in court that his illness was aggravated and heightened by his alcohol addiction.
Grinage stated that if Patel stops drinking and regularly takes his medication, it is less likely that he will offend again.
His defence lawyer, John Kerns, told the court that his family would be under immense strain and suffer if Patel was sentenced to prison.
Kerns said that if Navinkumar was sent to prison, with him being from the Hindu culture and community, his wife and children would be ‘ostracised.’
Many of Patel’s family members wrote letters to Fairchild, requesting the judge to sentence Patel to probation.
Kerns, described the case as “unusual, to say the least.”
In support of Navinkumar, two of his cousins told the court and stated that he was a loving husband and father and this incident was out of character.
Kerns said, that the family were also willing to ensure that he continues to remain sober and sticks to his medication regimen for his bipolar disorder.
Judge Fairchild addressed one of Patel’s cousins and asked if they can really make sure he will be looked after.
“I think it’s going to take a community to make his sobriety stick,” said Fairchild.
“You cannot accept the fact that just because he’s clean now he’s going to stay that way.”
Judge Fairchild completely agreed with Kerns that this specific case is unusual and said: “The cultural part of it is very significant in this case.”
A prison sentence for Patel, he knew would result in further stress on the family.
The District Attorney CJ Rieg argued that a presumptive prison sentence is what Patel’s conviction warrants. However, Fairchild pointed out that the law allows him to depart from those guidelines with ‘substantial and compelling reason.’
On these grounds, Fairchild then sentenced Patel to serve probation with the terms to be set in the next hearing.
He ordered that Patel must remain in jail until measures are put in place with a plan to avoid the risk of any repeat offending by him:
“I want the recommendation of the office that’s going to be supervising him before I impose any conditions.”
Patel’s terms for the probation will be set on September 8 2016.
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