Middlesbrough Pharmacist gets life in prison for murdering his wife

A Middlesbrough pharmacist's been found guilty of murdering his wife at their home, so he could start a new life with his soulmate in Australia.

Mitesh Patel, 37, injected his wife Jessica with insulin and strangled her with a Tesco bag-for-life at their Middlesbrough home, then staged a break-in to make it look like an intruder had attacked her and bound her with tape.

The couple ran a successful pharmacy together but their marriage was unhappy, with the husband repeatedly seeking sex with men he met on the Grindr dating app.

And he was secretly in a relationship with his soulmate'' Dr Amit Patel, who had emigrated to Sydney and with whom he hoped to bring up his and Jessica's IVF baby after her death.

The husband was convicted of her murder at Teesside Crown Court after the jury heard Patel had made internet searches dating back years, including "I need to kill my wife", "insulin overdose", "plot to kill my wife, do I need a co-conspirator?", "hiring hitman UK" and "how much methadone will kill you?"

There was no visible reaction from Patel as the verdict was announced, but there were cries of 'Yes' from the public gallery.

Her family have released a statement:

"Jessica was beautiful both on the inside and out. Her soul was pure, her heart ever so kind and the love and generosity she afforded to everyone in her life was second to none. She had simple dreams, all she ever wanted was to fall in love, have a family of her own and live happily ever after.

"Losing Jessica has devastated our family. Over the last 6 months we have agonised over what could have happened and the truth we have learnt over the last few weeks is truly painful and traumatic. Never could we have ever imagined anything like this. The man we welcomed into our family, who promised to look after and protect her, betrayed her in every sense of the word, cheating her of her dreams, robbing her of her life and robbing us of her.

"No one in this world has the right to take someone else’s life. Although even a maximum life sentence is not punishment enough, we are relieved at the outcome of the trial and this will help to bring us a little peace.

"We would like to thank everyone associated with this case who have worked tirelessly in aiding our fight to get justice for Jessica; the Family Liaison Officers and Cleveland Police, the CPS, QC Campbell and QC Perks. The amount of work that has been done has become very evident throughout the trial and we cannot express just how grateful we are.

"We would also like to thank all our family and friends who have supported us through this immensely difficult time.

"All we really want is to have Jessica back in our lives; something we will never get but we hope now she is finally at peace."

Meanwhile Cleveland Police Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Matt King said:

“Jessica Patel was a wonderful daughter, sister and friend, loved and respected by many, who tragically had her life cut short by the man who should have been there to love, cherish and protect her.

“During the course of the murder investigation, significant evidence emerged which proved Mitesh Patel had researched and planned Jess’s death for a number of years, which culminated in Jess’s murder on 14th May of this year.

“In an effort to disguise his crime and seek to fool the murder investigation team into believing that Jess had been murdered whilst Mitesh was out walking, Mitesh went to the extreme of staging the murder scene making it appear as though Jess had been murdered during a burglary, something which the investigation categorically proved to be a lie - one of the many lies which Mitesh spun to conceal his guilt and devious lifestyle.

“Whilst nothing can be done to bring Jess back or lessen the pain and suffering caused to Jess’s family, I sincerely hope that by bringing Mitesh Patel to justice for his despicable crime it at least brings some solace to them.

“Today’s conviction reflects the enormity of Mitesh Patel’s crime, who for his own devious reasons, which included pre-planning the murder for financial gain to the tune of two million pounds, took Jessica’s life.

“Even when faced with overwhelming evidence, Mitesh chose to inflict further pain and suffering upon Jess’s family by not admitting his guilt, thereby exposing Jess’s family to his deceitful, dishonest and wicked ways throughout trial.

“I’m very grateful to the CPS and prosecution team for their excellent work which has enabled the investigation team as a whole to present the best possible case for Jess, which has ultimately led to Mitesh Patel’s conviction."