A domestic homicide (DHR) review into the murder of Jessica Patel has urged family member to ask women seeking medical help for anxiety if they are suffering domestic abuse. Two years ago, pharmacist Mitesh Patel ha strangled his wife Jessica at their home in Middlesbrough as he had intended to move to Australia with his boyfriend. The DHR review found the murder could not have been predicted but has urged for greater awareness of warning signs of domestic abuse.
The review, conducted by Middlesbrough Community Safety Partnership, said there were signs Mrs Patel was being domestically abused by her husband during their nine-year marriage.
According to the panel, individual family, friends and colleagues had pieces of information that on their own "may not have seemed significant or alerted them of concerns", but when put together would have shown the abuse she suffered.
Among other signs, some incidents included, husband shouting at Jessica in front of colleagues and customers at their Roman Road Pharmacy, refusing to let her return home to visit her dying grandfather, moving houses to Middlesbrough from the Halifax area. Evidence suggests that Jessica was already seeking help from a GP for anxiety. According to the panel’s report she was also undergoing fertility treatment as she wanted to be a mother, but her husband was taking drugs to stifle his sperm count without Jessica’s knowledge. The review said,
"Research suggests that women experiencing domestic abuse are more likely to experience a mental health problem, while women with mental health problems are more likely to be domestically abused.
"In cases of mental health problems, health professionals should always consider asking a direct question of the patient."
The panel also said the murder should be considered an honour killing as the "only way [Mitesh Patel] may have felt able to leave the marriage with honour was by killing Jessica".
In a statement, Mrs Patel's family said they supported the "extremely painful" review to "provide a voice for her".
"So that this act of evil is not repeated, we encourage everyone to open their eyes, to ask questions and never assume everything is ok," they said.
