Schaumburg man indicted on murder charges in the death of his father

Cook County prosecutors on Friday announced an indictment against Abhijit Patel, a 28-year-old Schaumburg man who authorities say beat his father to death with a sledgehammer on Nov. 29.

During a detention hearing earlier this month, prosecutors told the court that Patel has “a history of threatening to kill the victim,” 67-year-old Anupam Patel, who had an active order of protection against his son. That order was entered on Jan. 3 and was set to expire on Jan. 4, 2027.

If convicted, Abhijit Patel faces from 20 to 60 years in prison.

According to prosecutors, Anupam Patel suffered at least two blows to his head, which fractured his skull and broke his nose. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The elder Patel was a diabetic whose glucose monitor was connected to his wife’s cellphone enabling her to monitor his blood sugar while she was at work, according to the prosecutor’s account. Patel typically called his wife, Abhijit Patel’s mother, at 8 a.m. daily to inform her of his blood sugar level.

When she did not hear from her husband, she called him and her son but neither answered, prosecutors said. She returned home, found her husband unresponsive and called 911, prosecutors said.

Patel will be arraigned Dec. 30 in Rolling Meadows courtroom 109.