News

By John Connolly

APPLETON, Wisconsin, January 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Wisconsin man has fled the United States after being charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child for spiking his girlfriend’s smoothie with the abortafacient drug, RU-486.

Manish M. Patel, 34, was charged on November 29 with seven felonies, the maximum punishment of the combined offenses is 99½ years in prison with fines of up to $92,000. Patel was freed from jail on December 3 after his friends raised the money necessary to post his $750,000 bail.

Patel’s attorney hasn’t heard from him since December 19, and anonymous tips claim Patel has gone back to his native India. Authorities have confirmed that Patel’s wife has already gone back to India after filing for divorce from Patel.

Patel was accused by his girlfriend, Darshana Patel, of spiking her smoothie with RU-486 to induce an abortion on a September 17 visit to an ice cream parlor. Darshana, who has a three-year-old son by Manish, miscarried twice in the course of a year. A lab test later confirmed the presence of the drug as the cause of the miscarriage.

Darshana’s concern for her unborn child led her to acquire a restraining order against Manish, her first step away from a long-lasting abusive relationship, according to a letter she filed with the court.

In 2006, she claims Manish became angry after she asked him to transfer his mortgages from her name back to his own. He beat her, making her “afraid (for) my safety and my unborn child’s safety,” the letter said. Darshana had been paying monthly mortgage payments in excess of $3,800.

Darshana Patel became pregnant in September 2006 – a child Manish denied was his – but she miscarried two months later. According to court records, Manish made Darshana drink a glass of milk with saffron in it. Manish denied Darshana’s accusation of being responsible for the miscarriage.

She became pregnant with his child a third time in August 2007, and this time she noticed how attentive Manish became, the criminal complaint said. He even prepared meals for her, up to the days before her second miscarriage, in September.

Investigators interviewed Manish Patel, asking whether he used abortion pills to cause the miscarriages, but he refused to answer. In a follow-up interview, he admitted to giving Darshana “one pill” but would not give any further details.

The district attorney says she’s working with the FBI in case Patel’ is found overseas and extradition proceedings are needed.

See Related LifeSiteNews Coverage:

FDA Conference on RU-486 Deaths to Examine Bacterial Connection
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06050907.html 

Abortion Drug RU-486 Company Admits to Death of Five Women
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05071905.html

Media Silent On Ru-486’s Nazi Death Camp Pedigree
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/oct/001004a.html