Published January 13, 2015
A woman whose boyfriend is charged with attempting to kill her fetus hopes to get some of the $750,000 bond he forfeited when he apparently left the area, her lawyer said.
Friends and acquaintances posted $750,000 in bond for Manish Patel, 34, to gain his release after he was charged in early December with seven felonies. The charges include attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child.
Authorities say he gave his pregnant girlfriend, Darshana Patel, a drink spiked with RU-486, a drug used to induce abortions, on Sept. 17. She did not consume the drink but instead had it analyzed for the drug after suffering a miscarriage Sept. 30 and then called authorities, the criminal complaint said.
Darshana Patel, who is not related to Manish Patel, said he had gotten other drinks for her and prepared food for her during the pregnancy, the complaint said. She also had a miscarriage in late 2006 she suspects was caused by Manish Patel, according to the complaint.
Manish Patel missed a scheduled Dec. 27 check in with jailers, and officials think he has fled to his native India.
Madison attorney Peg Lautenschlager, a former Wisconsin attorney general, said she will file a motion on behalf of the woman. Court documents contend Manish Patel took hundreds of thousands of dollars from his girlfriend for his businesses and other uses. Lautenschlager said she will work to help Darshana Patel recover that money and get compensation for the miscarriage.
"Nothing can make up for the tragic loss, but we are looking at all avenues to at least make up for all or some of her lost moneys," Lautenschlager said Monday.
State law allows money from a revoked bond to be used to compensate a victim, she said. Lautenschlager also is representing Darshana Patel in a paternity case filed by Manish Patel involving the couple's 3-year-old child. The two Patels are not related. Manish Patel is married to someone else.
Manish Patel's bond revocation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 22 in Outagamie County Circuit Court.
The charges against him carry a maximum penalty of 99 1/2 years in prison and $92,000 in fines.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/girlfriend-of-man-accused-of-slipping-her-drugs-to-kill-fetus-wants-his-bond-money