Jessica Patel murder: Husband charged with the murder of 'gentle and selfless' wife at their home
36-year-old Mitesh Patel has been charged with murdering a pharmacist, Jessica Patel, in her home in Middlesbrough on May 14. Jessica's body was found in her home which is a Victorian semi in The Avenue, Linthorpe, Middlesbrough. The woman is originally from Leeds. She worked at the Roman Road Pharmacy with her husband.
Mitesh, who is also from the same place, was arrested in connection with the murder and is set to appear at the Teesside Magistrates' Court on May 22.
The Cleveland Police released a statement on May 20 from Jessica's family that said: "We have lost Jessica, a kind hearted, gentle and selfless person who was loved dearly by her family and friends. She was completely dedicated to all of her family and her loss has brought an unbearable pain."
"We as a family are devastated and we would kindly request that everyone respects our privacy and allows us the time to grieve in peace."
Forensic experts have been gathering evidence from the couples' home and from the chemist shop where they work.
Detective Superintendent Tariq Ali said in a statement earlier in the week: "We know that Jessica was a well-liked and well-respected member of the local community, and that a lot of people knew her from working at the pharmacy."
The authorities have already done a postmortem on the body but they are not revealing any information because of "investigation purposes."
One of the neighbors said: "Around 8pm police started to arrive, four or five cars, six or seven vans and two or three ambulances. Police told my son he couldn't go out as they were dealing with a serious matter."
"I am very, very scared after hearing this news. They are an Asian couple, they are both chemists and they are quite quiet people. They have lived here for about a year, a year and a half."
"They keep themselves to themselves but this an area full of nice people, this isn't something you expect on your doorstep. I have lived here a long time and this is the first time I have seen that many police cars or anything like this."