Police: Attorney from Prospect Heights was strangled in Northbrook office
Police on Saturday released new details about the murder of a suburban real estate attorney last week in Northbrook as they continued investigating the case.
Jigar K. Patel, 36, of Prospect Heights, was strangled and found dead on the floor of his office about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Northbrook Police Chief Charles Wernick said during a news conference at the police station.
Officers entered the office, on the third floor of a building on the 1300 block of Shermer Road, after Patel's wife reported him missing to Prospect Heights police, Wernick said.
Patel had last been seen alive by a secretary about 4 p.m. that day.
He was scheduled to make a stop on his way home that night but never did, Wernick said. His vehicle was found parked nearby.
Wernick wouldn't say if a weapon was found at the scene.
Patel had rented the office for more than a year. Investigators are reviewing surveillance footage from the building.
Based on evidence and intuition, police believe Patel was targeted by his killer, Wernick said, but a motive wasn't known.
"This was not a random act," Wernick said.
Northbrook police and the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the murder. No one was in custody Saturday.
It's Northbrook's first murder since April 2009.
Anyone with information about the case can call (847) 564-2060.