FBI Adds 'Extremely Dangerous' Alleged Wife-Killer Last Seen In N.J. To Most Wanted List

An FBI nationwide manhunt is underway for an alleged wife-killer who was last seen in New Jersey. The agency said it has added Bhadreshkumar Patel to its Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of 26-year-old Patel, who was last seen in Newark. Patel should be considered armed and "extremely dangerous," the FBI says. If you have any information about Patel or his whereabouts, you are asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Patel was living in Hanover, Maryland, when he allegedly killed his wife and coworker, Palak Bhadreskumar Patel, 21, in a back room of the Arundel Mills, Maryland, Dunkin' Donuts on April 12, 2015, while several customers were still in the store. Investigators say Patel killed his wife by stabbing her multiple times.

After leaving the doughnut shop, Patel walked across the street to the apartment he shared with his wife, retrieved a few items and some cash, and then hailed a taxi, and the cab driver took him to a hotel in New Jersey near Newark Liberty International Airport, according to authorities.

He checked in about 3 a.m. with no bags, just the clothes on his back, and checked out around 10 a.m. and took a hotel shuttle to Newark Penn Station, authorities say. That’s the last anyone has seen of him, the FBI says.

An arrest warrant issued for Patel charges him with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and dangerous weapon with intent to injure. He took his passport, issued in India, from his home on April 13, WUSA TV reports.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland has issued a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution against Patel. He has brown hair and brown eyes, stands 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds, according to the FBI.

Patel was born in India and was in the United States legally, but his VISA expired in March 2015.

“The extremely violent nature of the crimes allegedly committed by Bhadreshkumar Patel earned him a place on the FBI’s Top Ten List,” said Gordon B. Johnson, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office. “The valuable assistance of the public cannot be overstated, as shown by the ongoing success locating fugitives placed on the Top Ten list. The ongoing efforts of our investigators, coupled with the public’s assistance, will lead to the capture of Bhadreshkumar Patel. We will never forget, and will not rest until he is located, captured and brought to justice.”

Investigators believe Palak Patel wanted to return to India — their visas had expired the month before — and her husband was against the idea. Agents say Patel could be with distant relatives in the U.S. or that he could have fled to Canada to return to India. Patel has ties to New Jersey, Kentucky, Georgia, Illinois and India.

“Palak Patel was murdered in a depraved act of domestic violence,” said Tim Altomare, chief of the Anne Arundel County Police Department. “Numerous and overwhelming efforts have been made in attempts to locate Bhadreshkumar and none of the efforts to date have been met with success. … In cooperation with the FBI the Anne Arundel County Police believe we will certainly locate Bhadreshkumar and provide justice for Palak that her family desperately seeks in order to find closure.”

Read more: Husband Wanted in Dunkin Donuts Murder Added To Most Wanted List: FBI

Reporting by Tom Davis and Deb Belt

Photo courtesy of FBI