Second burned son dies
The second of two boys doused with gasoline and severely burned in a Glendale Heights house fire authorities say was started by their father has died, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Vishv Patel, 7, was pronounced dead late Tuesday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. His brother, Om, 4, died last month at the hospital.
Before he died, Vishv was in critical condition in a drug-induced coma, according to a hospital spokesman.
The father, Kaushik Patel, is being held on a $10 million cash bond, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Patel was expected to appear Wednesday morning before DuPage Circuit Judge Kathryn Creswell for a full bond hearing. Prosecutors, though, said they were satisfied with the bond imposed Friday, shortly after Patel arrived at the jail to face first-degree murder charges.
Patel, 34, was released from Loyola Medical Center Friday and placed in custody. Police have kept him under constant watch since the Nov. 18 incident.
Patel is suspected of dousing his sons in gasoline and setting them on fire in a shower stall inside their home at 1860 Harvest Lane, injuring himself in the process. Police suspect he lured the boys into the stall with new toy cars found nearby. Their mother, Nishaben, was not home.
Afterward, police said, Patel drove his injured sons about five miles to his brother's house in Hanover Park, where a relative called 911.
Authorities said Patel admitted the botched murder-suicide attempt to his brother, Rajendra, who relayed the conversation to police. The couple, wed in 1997, were having marital problems, family members have said.
Earlier this month, a DuPage County judge approved a two-year protective order barring the hospitalized father, who is able to walk, from having contact with his surviving son. Patel is due in court next month. He is not expected to post bond.
A support fund has been set up in Om and Vishv Patel's name at West Suburban Bank, 1657 Bloomingdale Road, Glendale Heights, IL 60139.
Checks payable to the fund may be mailed to the bank or dropped off at Pheasant Ridge Primary School, 43 E. Stevenson Drive, Glendale Heights.
For more information, call (630) 260-6147.