Manishkumar Patel had slipped RU486, a drug known to end pregnancies, into his partner’s smoothie in 2007
A Wisconsin man will spend two decades in prison for spiking his pregnant girlfriend’s drink with an abortion pill in an effort to force a miscarriage.
Manishkumar Patel, 45, was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison followed by four years of extended supervision for attempted first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child in Outagamie County Court, WLUK-TV reported.
Patel had been convicted of slipping a drug known to end pregnancies into his partner’s smoothie in 2007, officials said.
The woman, with whom Patel already had another child, did not ingest the drink but instead sent it to a lab for testing in California, Outagamie County District Attorney Melina Tempelis reportedly said in court.
The woman had a miscarriage a week before getting the results from the testing, which came back positive for RU486. Known as the abortion pill, RU486 is a progesterone blocker that can end a pregnancy less than 10 weeks along.
“It is not the morning-after pill, it cannot be dispensed by general doctors or prescribed or available through pharmacy," Tempelis said.
Police said that when they executed a search warrant at Patel’s home, they found an envelope containing the pills. Patel allegedly told investigators he had a friend in India send him the medication.
Patel said in court that he didn’t want another child because he was afraid it would suffer medical problems like his other child with the victim, according to WLUK-TV.
“I took a life of an unborn child," Patel said. "I realized that even if the child had some sort of medical problems, he would still have had a life."
Patel fled the country after being charged, forfeiting $750,000 cash bond.
He said he traveled to India to be with his father, who he claimed was sick at the time.
“I felt this was what I had to do to see my father one last time,” Patel said. “My father is still alive, but had medical issues.”
He was arrested in 2017 in New York and was returned to Wisconsin, where a $50 million cash bond was set, WLUK-TV reported.
In August, Patel pleaded no contest to the original charge he faced as part of a plea deal that saw his bail jumping charges dismissed. However, the judge was allowed to consider those charges at sentencing.
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