Mitesh Patel ‘used Grindr on day he murdered his wife’
Mitesh Patel is accused of strangling and suffocating wife Jessica Patel to death
Mitesh Patel, a pharmacist accused of strangling his wife to death so he could start a new life with his gay partner, used dating apps and sites like Grindr on the day she died, a court has heard.
The 37-year-old is standing trial for the murder of Jessica Patel on May 14 at their home in Middlesbrough, England.
Judge James Goss previously informed Teesside Crown Court that it had been agreed by both the prosecution and the defence that Patel had been having affairs with other men.
The pharmacist told officers that he started using dating websites and apps including Grindr in the summer of 2017.
Mitesh Patel used Grindr to contact gay men (Leon Neal/Getty)
After his wife found out, Patel said he had told her he would stop and work on their marriage, but has admitted to police that he used the sites and apps on a daily basis during their family holiday weeks before her death.
And phone records used as evidence in court on Monday (November 26) show that he accessed them on the day of Jessica Patel’s death.
The court was also played police interviews which stated that when officers arrived to arrest Patel, he was found with £2,000 in a plastic bag in addition to £25,000 in a safe in the pharmacy which Patel ran with his wife, according to Teesside Live.
Mitesh Patel is accused of murdering his wife Jessica Patel
The safe in the business’s storeroom also contained a “large amount” of gold and silver jewellery, along with coins, gold watches, gold bars and precious stones.
The court has heard how Patel, who denies murder, allegedly suffocated and strangled his wife with a Tesco Bag For Life after repeatedly cheating on her with several men from gay hook-up app Grindr.
Mitesh Patel ‘killed wife to be with gay partner’
The prosecution has claimed Patel planned to cover up his wife’s murder, claim £2 million from her life insurance policy, then move to Australia to start a new life with his gay lover, who has been named as Sydney resident Amit Patel.
The defendant told officers that his relationship with his wife was “tense” and that he worried his marriage had “failed” after the pair got back from holiday, but added that she did not want a divorce.
After his wife’s death, Patel told police that she had been killed by an intruder who burgled their home and tied her up with duct tape while he was out.
Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell, QC previously told the court that Patel had attempted to stage the murder scene and create a false alibi, adding that the intruder story was a “lie.”
The court has now heard that the pharmacist did not attempt CPR on his wife when he allegedly found her body, saying that “he didn’t know how to.”
Jessica Patel was killed in May, allegedly by Mitesh Patel (Family photo)
Officers accuse Mitesh Patel of lying to them
While being interviewed by the police, Patel was also shown CCTV footage to dispute his claim that he was out walking when his wife was killed.
Detectives said there was “35 to 40 missing minutes” in his account, The Northern Echo has reported.
The officer interviewing Patel told him: “It’s impossible for you to leave your home address by turning left or right without showing up on a camera. So the only explanation is that you’re in the house.
“Something has gone on in that house when Jessica has got home. ”
Patel responded: “There’s nothing to tell.”
The trial continues.
