Mom Accused Of Letting Son Drown Because She Hated Him

[Whisper]

Neha Patel

Ishan Patel (right) and his mother, suspected killer Neha (left).

POLK COUNTY, Fla. - Tampa International Airport police captured a Polk County woman suspected of killing her one-year-old son.

According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Rashesh Patel, came home on Thursday to discover his wife, Neha Patel, 32, and their son missing.

He tried to locate her and, at one point, was contacted by a credit card company who told him his card had been used in the Ocala area. He drove an hour north to Ocala but was unsuccessful in finding his wife.

He returned to his Polk County home and contacted authorities on Thursday evening.

Early the next morning, the woman came home with the baby, Ishan, wrapped in a blanket.

Rashesh took the blanket and saw the child's lifeless body.

Judd said she told her husband, "I killed him, and I'll be dead tomorrow."

After Rashesh contacted Neha's father, she ran out of the house and drove away.

Judd said officers tracked Neha Patel's vehicle to Tampa International Airport. But then she left and filled up her car at a 7-Eleven Thursday evening.

Judd said the woman suffers from postpartum depression and has said in the past that she wanted to die in the Smoky Mountains.

Just before 7:30 Friday morning, Polk County officials notified airport police that Neha Patel, 32, had used her credit card at the TIA economy parking garage.

Patel's vehicle was seen driving into the airport's long-term parking garage just after 1:00 p.m. The woman was apprehended and and taken to an airport holding cell.

Polk County detectives interviewed Patel at the airport, where she admitted to killing the baby.

Neha told them that she "hates the baby." She told detectives that she slapped the baby twice when they were alone at home to keep him away from her, and put the baby down for a nap.

When the baby woke up, she put him in the bathtub, filled it half-full of water, and left him in there alone "for 10 minutes." When she returned to take him out of the tub, she said he was unconscious.

She then clothed the baby, and drove around, through a Publix parking lot near the home, and later to Ocala and to Tampa International Airport.

She told detectives that she knew the baby was deceased during this drive, because he was "blue" and "cold."

Her husband confronted her when she got home, demanding to know where she had gone, and what happened to the baby.

She took the child to the crib and told her husband that she had drowned the baby.

Judd said the baby had suffered "significant trauma."

He said the mother faces a first-degree murder charge.

"I can't understand how anyone could murder a baby like this," Judd said.

During Patel's first court appearance before a judge Saturday morning, bond was denied.
[....]

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/new...#ixzz1ml1AOp4g

[MotherManderkin]

If the husband knew that she was suffering from PPD...why didn't he insist she get help? She said she hated the baby to the police, are we honestly to believe that this is the first time she ever made that statement to anyone? She should have gotten help, shouldn't have been left alone with the child, and then maybe he would be alive today. I thank God I never had PPD but I know how bad it can get and what can happen if left untreated...it needs to be taken more seriously! Hello, Andrea Yates.

[crimsonsorrow]

Ok, I am not understanding how the family/husbands/partners are missing OBVIOUS signs of PPD? Some women aren't super moms off the bat! As much as people think it's in our primitive instinct to care for a child, we have evolved emotionally too so that the effects of pregnancy/labor/childcare is strenuous. I would love to see a man pregnant, pop out a child and be a Martha Stewart/SuperNanny from hour one.

[Tundratot]

If the baby is a year old, she's had this PPD for a long time. I feel so bad for the baby. No fault of his own and mom is a wicked bitch denying him love and hitting him, trying to drown him. It doesn't sound like that's what she actually did, though. "Significant trauma" I think means she did a lot more than slap him a couple times.

[VAS1326]

I haven't even read the article yet but when I saw this little guy's sad little face I almost cried....I want to kiss that sad little face and hug him...have him wrap those chubby little arms around my neck and hug back. Sad this baby boy will never be hugged or hug again. Okay off to read the article.

[VAS1326]

I really wish this woman had gotten help. I bet she felt herself falling off the edge. I wish her husband would have intervined more. Odds are she was in denial when it came to family and friends. Nobody wants to admit to feeling the way PPD makes you feel. It would make you look like a bad mother or a bad person. I'm willing to bet she did not tell her husband she hated her child. She probably didn't want to admit to herself or others she was a failure as a parent. Sadly it's normal for PPD suffers to suffer in silence in order to save face. I had severe PPD twice.....here is what it's like.

I had PPD after my 2nd pregnancy that didn't get to a boiling point until after my son was a year old and I had a complete meltdown. At the time of the breakdown I was alone with my 2 kids at the time while my husband was deployed. I went to the doctor who referred me to mental health (in the Navy hospital) I was told then it would take a month when they called me on my referral to get in. I called my doctor back and said look I'm on the edge, I stopped sleeping, I can't focus and I'm becomming increasingly irrational. I have 2 kids by myself right now....I can't wait a month. She had me come back in to talk and gave me Ativan to keep me stable and help me sleep until I could see someone. A lot of women in my position would accept the one month wait for the appointment and sometimes it's too late. Women don't understand sometimes you have to demand care to anyone who will listen.

I never hurt my son or my older daughter during that year. I did get to the point where I was yelling a lot at my 7 year old daughter. I would get angry over stupid things and have unreal expectations (like she was doing something to slow) and I would be angry because the baby wanted something again.....this went on for months until I started feeling nothing for them. That's when I knew I needed help. I felt like I wanted nothing more to do with my children. I loved them but I felt as if I didn't like them. God only knows how bad that could have ended if I didn't do something. By the way the PPD started early but I was in denial. I was like oh just baby blues it's normal. I denied I needed help at first and insisted it would subside with time. I also didn't want to tell anyone how I really felt about my kids because I would look like a bad mother. I mean what kind of person loathes their own children and wants little to do with them??? I knew I loved them but for some reason didn't like them. I didn't like myself either though in all fairness. I felt selfish for feeling how I did. How could I say those things to others because they would think I was selfish too.

Baby #3 my second son came 6 years later and not a single sign of PPD.

Baby #4 my baby girl came and the PPD was rapid and severe.....I hated everything and everybody. I wanted to sleep and be left alone all the time. I could not understand why I felt that way at all. I was extremely irrational often. My fuse was short and my temper burned hot. Luckily my fiance was here and after a few weeks (of course again I blamed the baby blues at first) we talked it out when I was in the midst of a melt down. He said something about my hormone's being out of whack and I then realized maybe I have PPD again. Called the doctor right away and got help. I seriously think if I let those feelings fester a year I would be dead. I never ever contemplated killing the kids but was often thinking of ending it all for myself. I didn't want to live.

So I guess I'm saying that PPD is a bitch and a half. It's scary as shit where you don't even recognize how bad it has gotten. It also has the tendency to ebb and flow....one day you feel okay and the next the walls are caving in. I think PPD training should be mandatory when you give birth before you leave the hospital. One thing that helped with my 2nd born is I took a parenting class before my oldest child was born. They told us that if you felt over frusterated and felt like you could harm your baby it's okay to let them cry in the crib while you cool down. I had used that method several times with him. I always felt guilty after I calmed down because that was my baby and I shouldn't feel so much angst toward him.

[Whisper]

I had it after I had my last son,
after Heaven I was fine nothing wrong
We had a son the next year that died at 5 months
then had Case year after that and he was 12 weeks preemie
I was totally on edge all the time,
thought stupid things,
not about hurting my kids but other stuff just really whacked out of it and my dr was trying at first to say it was b/c we had lost Kaleb but that wasnt it
After a few weeks my OBGYN caught on and helped with treatment

[Tundratot]

@VAS1326 It's very brave of you to come out with your PPD experiences. It's amazing to me that mental health providers can have month long waiting lists like that. Considering that there are people in crisis, they don't seem to have any proviso for folks who could be dangerous to themselves or others, it's a wonder there aren't people all over crying "foul" because their loved one reached out for help they couldn't get.

@Whisper What took them so long? These folks know about PPD, you'd think that would be very close to the front of their minds. Do they suffer from denial much?

[Whisper]

@VAS1326 It's very brave of you to come out with your PPD experiences. It's amazing to me that mental health providers can have month long waiting lists like that. Considering that there are people in crisis, they don't seem to have any proviso for folks who could be dangerous to themselves or others, it's a wonder there aren't people all over crying "foul" because their loved one reached out for help they couldn't get.

@Whisper What took them so long? These folks know about PPD, you'd think that would be very close to the front of their minds. Do they suffer from denial much?

i knew mine wasnt from losing Kaleb and checking my blood work so did they,
my chemicals were way off balance and actually tracked back to pills they gave me to dry up some of my milk
b/c he was in hosp and I was nursing but producing enough to nurse quads if needed
so gave me dry up pills to dry some up,cant remember the name but a side effect was they could affect the central nervous system

[Silvahalo]

Post partum might have not been suspected at all because a lot of men just don't now what to look for, heck a lot of woman don't. Had she actually seen a doctor?
Also since baby was already a year, it's far less common to see PPD that late. Some woman don't have symptoms 'till months after birth, mine was a good 2 months after my first that was in part due to the trauma after childbirth, and I didn't seek help 'till the 4th month. I remember the feeling of complete disconnect with my child; like he wasn't mine. A terrifying feeling for a first time mom.

I don't know the history with this woman and how she cared for her baby, (past abuse, neglect) but once she was thinking suicide and killing baby it was not common PPD anymore. PPPsychosis is very rare but happens and woman with it need help immediately. I wonder if she had a history of mental illness, that would also be a red flag for PPP developing.

Terribly tragic that it came down to baby Ishan being killed. My sympathies to those who loved him.

[VXIII]

Helooks so scared and sad it breaks my heart...

[Dakota Valkyrie]

For the second consecutive day Sunday, a Lakeland woman charged with first-degree murder in the death of her baby son was denied bond.

Neha Patel, 32, made her first appearance in a Polk County court Sunday and was appointed a public defender. Because she was arrested in Hillsborough County, she had appeared before a Hillsborough judge Saturday.
[...]

An autopsy Saturday showed that the baby drowned and had blunt force trauma to his face.

Investigators had been looking for Patel since Thursday when her husband, Rasesh Patel, reported her and Ishan missing.

Early Friday, Patel returned home and told her husband she had killed their son and would be dead herself by the next day, authorities say. Neha left again, and Rashesh called 911 in hopes of saving his son. By the time emergency personnel arrived, the baby had been dead for a while.

Neha Patel was a pharmacist at the CVS pharmacy on Soctrum Loop Road in north Lakeland, but quit last week, according to officials.

http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news...ublic-defender

After the child died, she drove to Tampa twice to commit suicide, officials said.

However, her plan to jump off the parking garage roof was thwarted because she said "there were too many people at the airport," according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Her husband, Rasesh Patel, told detectives his wife suffers from postpartum depression and she had been taking medication for her illness. Contacted Saturday, he declined comment.

The couple also has a 4-year-old daughter, said Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer.
[...]

In an interview with detectives Friday, she said she hated her son since he was born and blamed the child for her "state of mind."

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...carrie-eleazer

[Bohring]

Fuck her. I have no sympathy for her. All of you lovely ladies managed to get through it without beating and drowning your babies. I hope she hangs herself in jail.

[Silvahalo]

Her husband, Rasesh Patel, told detectives his wife suffers from postpartum depression and she had been taking medication for her illness. Contacted Saturday, he declined comment.

The couple also has a 4-year-old daughter, said Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer.
[...]

In an interview with detectives Friday, she said she hated her son since he was born and blamed the child for her "state of mind."

So I guess the meds weren't working. I am very curious how she treated her little girl.
I have no sympathies in what she did, but for why she did it.

I fucking can't stand reading this shit, can't express that enough--reading it breaks my heart.
She hated Ishan since he was born, poor baby never felt any love from his momma. Didn't her husband notice this? it would have been highly disturbing to see her treat him with blatant hate. Something is obviously very wrong with her.

She blamed him for her "state of mind". I guess she'll blame him for her state of life now. Fuck her.

[princessgrandma]

Some men have no clue about PPD, but then there are others who know about it but don't see it as anything to worry about or deal with. "Oh, she'll snap out of it" are some famous last words.

It has nothing to do with PPD but I went through puberty and most of my teen years with undiagnosed bipolar disorder b/c my parents had the "she'll grow out it" mentality. It took a suicide attempt and a stay in a mental facility before they finally got it through their heads that no, I wouldn't just snap out of it.

That poor baby. He wasn't to blame for any of it, no matter how you look at it, yet he's the one who suffered the most and ultimately was killed.

RIP, little one.

[VAS1326]

@Tundratot

It's very brave of you to come out with your PPD experiences. It's amazing to me that mental health providers can have month long waiting lists like that. Considering that there are people in crisis, they don't seem to have any proviso for folks who could be dangerous to themselves or others, it's a wonder there aren't people all over crying "foul" because their loved one reached out for help they couldn't get.

I only told my story so others posting could understand how trully scary and PPD can be for the person experiencing it. You have idiots like Tom Cruise telling the public it's not a real disorder.....but trust me it is.
A lot of people never experience being so close to the brink of sanitity. It's real hard sometimes in the middle of an episode to even know you are in an episode. It's terrifying when you realize how you behaved. I was able to recognize it when I went through it and knew I had to do something so I made damn sure they heard me.

When you are a military family living near a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) you bascially have to go there or insurance don't cover it. It's real hard to get a referral approved outside when a MTF is near. It's a cost thing and it's stupid. Like I said most people won't call back and demand something be done like I did. You think more bad stuff would happen with a month long wait list and it does. Usually it's military suicide because the service members coming back from combat do not get the support they need for their PTSD. Though headlines don't usually report those deaths and the one's they do sound somethings like "Drunken Marine Runs Out onto Highway and Dies"

[VAS1326]

I had it after I had my last son,
after Heaven I was fine nothing wrong
We had a son the next year that died at 5 months
then had Case year after that and he was 12 weeks preemie
I was totally on edge all the time,
thought stupid things,
not about hurting my kids but other stuff just really whacked out of it and my dr was trying at first to say it was b/c we had lost Kaleb but that wasnt it
After a few weeks my OBGYN caught on and helped with treatment

I never hurt or wanted to hurt my children either though after time started losing interest in them and became very aggitated at them. I felt horrible for it. I thought a lot about how to cleanly end my life or how to possibly disappear a lot. With both times the baby's father was the main target most the time....I would fantasize about leaving them even though they did nothing wrong. I think I tried shifting the blame. Then after the rage I would cry out of guilt. I would odd episodes where I would have sworn they were out to get me always working against me. I used to accuse my fiance of secretly plotting to steal the baby. Other weird thoughts like that. Totally unrealistic but I was sorta crazy.

See it's doctor's who try to blame other things who give the rest a bad name. There is a difference between baby blues, PPD and grief. When I had it with my 4th I asked the OB/GYN for medication. Told him I had it with #2 and Lexapro worked best. He gave it to me straight away. He did ask about my symptoms feelings but by that time I knew exactly how to put my feelings into words because I had been through it once. I think it's scary to anyone the first time they have it and even scarier when your medical doctor isn't taking the claim seriously. Though I think OB/GYN's are more sympathic too it. My regular doctor sounded almost annoyed I was on Lexapro for PPD when I saw him after that. He wanted to ween me off. I was like umm no I'll wait until the prescribing doctor says too (which I've been off them over a year now)

[VAS1326]

Helooks so scared and sad it breaks my heart...

I know I commented on his photo before even reading the article. I just want to love him up! It is heartbreaking :-(

[VAS1326]

Fuck her. I have no sympathy for her. All of you lovely ladies managed to get through it without beating and drowning your babies. I hope she hangs herself in jail.

Oh I absolutely DO NOT give her a pass for PPD. If the meds were not working she should have told her doctor. They are real good about helping you find the right one (I went through 2 others before ending up on Lexapro because they didn't work or had aweful side effects on me) She should have kept going back until she got the right stuff. I mean if you were ready to kill your baby it seems that would be a good time to pick up the phone and tell the doctor you are about to go over that edge...tell someone the truth. If she told her husband, grandma, mother, sister or doctor she was going to kill that baby if she didn't get help like this minute I guarentee somebody would have acted. She has no-one to blame but herself. If you feel that strongly about your child then have someone else take care of them. If you get to a point you know you are about to harm that baby (she waited a year before taking his life) reach out and have someone else care for him. Walk away....by yourself. Let dad take care of him. I'm sure grandma and aunties or whoever would help. Killing a child is NEVER the answer.

[Shadow]

Several months after the birth of my second daughter, I started feeling sad, anxious and depressed *all* the time. I didn't want to deal with either of my children and would often lock myself in my room when my (now) ex-husband was home. One day I walked in on my (now) ex-husband and (now) ex-best friend in bed together, in our marital bed. I went downstairs and took a knife from the kitchen drawer and began carving up my arm. I was admitted to the psych hospital and given the diagnosis of Bi-Polar. From the very beginning none of the meds worked. I spent the first week of my time in the psych hospital, in the padded room. This was in the late 80s. After being discharged from the hospital, I went home. We had a birthday party for my oldest, and I had a melt-down. I freaked out. Fortunately it wasn't in front of the children or other parents but my (now) ex-husband was very quick to push the meds at me, and often would 'remind' me several times in one day, by nagging me about them. For the next several years they tried a ton of different meds, but nothing ever changed how I felt. What *did* work, was for me to write. I kept a journal. He would often snatch it and read it, to make sure I wasn't saying bad things about him. Well, I figured that I'd better write it in a way that he couldn't decipher it. I did a lot of venting about him in the journal. Whenever I needed to write about him, I would write it as though it were a dream that I had one night. He came to believe the journal was a 'dream journal' of sorts. He'd ask me why I thought I was having so many bad dreams. My reply was always the same..."I don't have any idea.." After he was out of my life permanently, things in my life began to calm down some. I stayed on the medication and we kept trying to find something that would work. Fast forward to my moving to California. Things were stressful and I was still on a nice cocktail of psych meds. One day I did end up trying to kill myself. I overdosed on a bottle of Tylenol #3 with Codeine, there were about 30pills in the bottle. I took 'em all, and washed 'em down with a bottle of vodka. My 3rd ex, (he was my boyfriend at the time) called 911 and they rushed me off to the hospital. At the hospital they gave me a charcoal concoction to drink to cause me to vomit the meds back up. I threw up everything but my toenails. It was awful. After that, I was put on a different medication. I was in counseling once per week for an hour. In counseling I learned how to cope with various aspects of life. Now, looking back, I can't help but think it wasn't Bi-Polar, because there wasn't ever any 'manic' episodes. And because it started after the birth of my second child. Also, I more stable now, than I was prior to my 2nd pregnancy... I've been psych med free for almost a decade, and I handle everything without melting down. I remember what it felt like before the first suicide attempt. I hated myself and I hated being married. I hated my (now) ex-husband. I didn't want anything to do with my children, among other things. I didn't sleep well. I'd toss n turn all night. Wake up just as tired as I was when I went to bed.

Now, it is possible that it is bi-polar and I've learned how to adjust without medication but I can't help but wonder if it's really possible to manage something that is supposed to be so unpredictable without meds.

I don't for a moment buy that it's due to PPD that she killed her baby. Even with PPD you know you have choices. She could've taken the baby to a safe house, while hubby was at work. Really. There are choices.

To the two that shared their stories about their experiences with PPD. Brava. That took a lot of courage. Bless you both!

~shadow

[VAS1326]

Several months after the birth of my second daughter, I started feeling sad, anxious and depressed *all* the time. I didn't want to deal with either of my children and would often lock myself in my room when my (now) ex-husband was home. One day I walked in on my (now) ex-husband and (now) ex-best friend in bed together, in our marital bed. I went downstairs and took a knife from the kitchen drawer and began carving up my arm. I was admitted to the psych hospital and given the diagnosis of Bi-Polar. From the very beginning none of the meds worked. I spent the first week of my time in the psych hospital, in the padded room. This was in the late 80s. After being discharged from the hospital, I went home. We had a birthday party for my oldest, and I had a melt-down. I freaked out. Fortunately it wasn't in front of the children or other parents but my (now) ex-husband was very quick to push the meds at me, and often would 'remind' me several times in one day, by nagging me about them. For the next several years they tried a ton of different meds, but nothing ever changed how I felt. What *did* work, was for me to write. I kept a journal. He would often snatch it and read it, to make sure I wasn't saying bad things about him. Well, I figured that I'd better write it in a way that he couldn't decipher it. I did a lot of venting about him in the journal. Whenever I needed to write about him, I would write it as though it were a dream that I had one night. He came to believe the journal was a 'dream journal' of sorts. He'd ask me why I thought I was having so many bad dreams. My reply was always the same..."I don't have any idea.." After he was out of my life permanently, things in my life began to calm down some. I stayed on the medication and we kept trying to find something that would work. Fast forward to my moving to California. Things were stressful and I was still on a nice cocktail of psych meds. One day I did end up trying to kill myself. I overdosed on a bottle of Tylenol #3 with Codeine, there were about 30pills in the bottle. I took 'em all, and washed 'em down with a bottle of vodka. My 3rd ex, (he was my boyfriend at the time) called 911 and they rushed me off to the hospital. At the hospital they gave me a charcoal concoction to drink to cause me to vomit the meds back up. I threw up everything but my toenails. It was awful. After that, I was put on a different medication. I was in counseling once per week for an hour. In counseling I learned how to cope with various aspects of life. Now, looking back, I can't help but think it wasn't Bi-Polar, because there wasn't ever any 'manic' episodes. And because it started after the birth of my second child. Also, I more stable now, than I was prior to my 2nd pregnancy... I've been psych med free for almost a decade, and I handle everything without melting down. I remember what it felt like before the first suicide attempt. I hated myself and I hated being married. I hated my (now) ex-husband. I didn't want anything to do with my children, among other things. I didn't sleep well. I'd toss n turn all night. Wake up just as tired as I was when I went to bed.

Now, it is possible that it is bi-polar and I've learned how to adjust without medication but I can't help but wonder if it's really possible to manage something that is supposed to be so unpredictable without meds.

I don't for a moment buy that it's due to PPD that she killed her baby. Even with PPD you know you have choices. She could've taken the baby to a safe house, while hubby was at work. Really. There are choices.

To the two that shared their stories about their experiences with PPD. Brava. That took a lot of courage. Bless you both!

~shadow

You know they thought that my PPD with my 2nd child was possibly bi-polar disorder at first. I did have bouts of mania especially when it came to money (a common trip for those with bi-polar disorder) and because the intense highs and lows for me. Example going completely crazy screaming profanities, saying hurtful things, breaking stuff (didn't care about consequences) and then suddenly just a fast as I got angry I would go to tears of guilt (regret) Like I said my PPD ebbed and flowed a while but in that incident I let it go on way too long. It may have been the case for you since a lot of your symptoms sound a lot like mine. I am not bi-polar. I had PPD.

I agree...it's not an excuse. We both (along with others here) have been loopy to the edge (or even over the edge) of insanity and never thought to kill our children. There is no excuse to kill a child EVER for any reason.

[Shadow]

You know they thought that my PPD with my 2nd child was possibly bi-polar disorder at first. I did have bouts of mania especially when it came to money (a common trip for those with bi-polar disorder) and because the intense highs and lows for me. Example going completely crazy screaming profanities, saying hurtful things, breaking stuff (didn't care about consequences) and then suddenly just a fast as I got angry I would go to tears of guilt (regret) Like I said my PPD ebbed and flowed a while but in that incident I let it go on way too long. It may have been the case for you since a lot of your symptoms sound a lot like mine. I am not bi-polar. I had PPD.

I agree...it's not an excuse. We both (along with others here) have been loopy to the edge (or even over the edge) of insanity and never thought to kill our children. There is no excuse to kill a child EVER for any reason.

Let's try this again. I tried to reply before, and the database ate my response.

I can only imagine how horrible it must've been for you. How frightening, to be told it's one thing, when it's something else. When they give you a diagnosis of bi-polar, it stays with you for life. I still get asked, and I tell them, I'm medication free, and I honestly don't believe it ever was bi-polar. I believe it was post-partum depression. I think stress aggravated the symptoms and made them seem more obvious, but I don't think that it's bi-polar by any stretch of the imagination due to several things.
First, bi-polar people tend to have ups and downs when they're not on medication to keep them at even keel. Second, severely stressful situations can trigger depression and suicidal ideation. And it often does. Third, there are blood tests they can do to see what chemicals in our blood are lacking to determine how best to treat bi-polar, as I understand it. When they did the blood work for me, my levels were all, right where they should've been. WITHOUT medication. The doctors thought it was a lab mistake and treated me anyway.. I suspect that's why none of the meds ever worked.

My husband and I went through several events in our lives together that would have sent me over the edge and into nowhere land, if I was bi-polar. I went through a botched hysterectomy, a SUV rollover, and another major surgery a few months later. Then we lost our house, and had to file bankruptcy. All of this was a lot to contend with in a short amount of time but we managed. In the middle of it there was our wedding and honeymoon. Let's just say that for anyone normal it would've been a lot to contend with, but we handled it without any major melt-downs and we took it in stride. I can say it that way because I didn't freak out. Even at my wedding, I didn't. (this was the one place I really thought I would).. :D

I agree with you, sweetie. To me, it seemed a lot more like PPD than bi-polar. Though to be fair, the bi-polar diagnosis came at a time when they were still learning what it was and labeling people they 'thought' had it. It was the 'in' thing to diagnose someone with, kinda how autism or asperger's is now.

I am so glad that you had the strength to handle things and are here to tell us your story today. *huggggles* to you, for being strong and doing what ya had to do.

You are right that There is NO EXCUSE to kill a child.. EVER.

~shadow

[Whisper]

911 call details father's conversation with dispatcher after baby's death

LAKELAND - A garbled but chilling 911 call was released on Monday, and it sheds more light on the investigation into the murder of a 1-year-old baby boy

On it, the boy’s father, Rasesh Patel, tells a dispatcher that his wife, Neha, had come home with the baby and he was dead.

The sheriff’s office released the short portion of the call, which was made at 2:43 a.m. Friday.

“She left with the baby?” the dispatcher asks.

“No, baby’s right here with me. He’s dead,” Rasesh Patel says in the recording.

That was 1-year-old Ishnan Patel, who authorities say was killed by his mother in their Polk County home.

She’s accused of letting him drown in the bathtub, and she’s in jail without bond on first-degree murder charges.

In the 911 call, Rasesh Patel also says Neha told him that she drowned him.
[...]

http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/new...s-death-022112

[Morbid]

Lakeland, Fl –*I know this is from last month, but dammit I wrote it up yesterday unaware of that fact and it seemed a shame to just toss it in the trash. Police say a woman in Florida purposely left her 1-year-old son in a bathtub to drown because she hated him.*According to the reports, 32-year-old Neha Patel admitted that she hated her son,*Isham Patel, since the day he was born and blamed him for her depression. On Thursday, she was alone with the 1-year-old when he began crawling towards her. In an effort to curb Isham from ever approaching her, she told police she slapped him before putting him in his crib for a nap. When he woke up, she placed him in a half full bathtub and then walked out of the room. When she returend 10 minutes later, she found Ishan submerged and unconcious. Instead of calling 911 or performing CPR, she loaded the boy in her Toyota Sienna and took a road trip. First she drove to a supermarket parking lot, then back home, then to Ocala and then to Tampa International Airport. During this time she says she knew Ishan was dead because he was cold and blue. While she was out with her dead son, her husband had been trying to reach her from work and returned home at around 1:30 p.m. to find no one home. He called police later that evening to report his wife and son missing, explaining that his wife suffered from depression and had not been taking her medication. Neha arrived home at around 2:30 a.m. Friday. She walked in carrying Ishan’s body and placed him in his crib while telling her husband she had drowned their son. When she heard her husband begin making phone calls, she stated she didn’t want to go to prison and left the home. Police would find her back at the Tampa International Airport sitting in her van. She told them that she was planning on jumping off the parking deck, but wasn’t able to because of the people who kept walking by. She was taken into custoday and charged with charged with first-degree murder.
This article is from The Dreamin' Demon, the Internet's self-appointed buzzkill.


More...

[Dakota Valkyrie]

A judge has ruled a 32-year-old Lakeland woman isn’t ready to stand trial on charges that she drowned her infant son earlier this year.

Circuit Judge Mark Carpanini wrote in an order filed today that Neha Patel must undergo treatment because she suffers from a mental illness and could harm herself or another person in the near future.

Authorities have previously reported that Patel suffered from severe postpartum depression and had threatened to commit suicide in the past.

The order filed today doesn’t give details of Patel’s mental illness, and a recent psychiatric evaluation has been sealed in the court file.

However, recent court documents reveal Patel has continued to display suicidal thoughts.

Last month, Assistant State Attorney Hope M. Pattey wrote in a letter to jail officials that Patel in telephone conversations frequently has discussed killing herself.

As a matter of jail policy, telephone conversations from the jail are recorded and can be monitored by law enforcement officers.

Pattey wrote that Patel even asked someone to bring her poison so she could put it in her food.
[...]

The judge’s decision temporarily halts the criminal case against Patel until she becomes competent to stand trial.

The order states there is a “substantial probability” that Patel’s mental illness will respond to treatment, and she will regain competency “in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

A review hearing is scheduled to take place Aug. 26 to see if any progress has been made.
[...]

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...news/120519698

[Aena]

I do feel bad for her and I will tell you why. I had PPPsychosis and it is like nothing you have ever felt before. It starts of as PPD where you have slight symptoms compared to what happens when it changes. When it changes it is like a lightning bolt shoots through you. You aren't rational at all, I think back about that time and it scares me to death. I had thoughts about killing myself AND my child, I thought I had to kill my baby because something was going to happen to her. Nothing you think or feel makes any sense to you anymore. You feel trapped, hopeless, and scared. I went without sleep for 2 weeks, literally. Every time I tried to sleep I had a panic attack so bad I hyperventilated. When you are in that kind of state you don't even think about getting help, you are paranoid and delusional. It is that bad. Most of it I can't even describe because i can't even remember it. I do know that if my sister and brother in law wouldn't have rushed me to the ER because they seen me in a full blown panic attack hyperventilating and freaked because they had no idea what was going on with me my daughter and I may not be here.

[Zazen]

I have been trying to thank/like so many damned people on here today (this thread in particular), but my computer hates me today. I thought I read from one of the original stories that the father said she had stopped taking her medication and he was aware of that. If that were the case, I wish he had taken the situation far more seriously than he did. He could have stepped in before it was too late.

Strangely, even though I've struggled with depression all my life on and off, I was lucky to never get a touch of PPD. I swear I had the opposite. My husband said he knew where I and our daughter were in the house just by following the sound of me giving her smootches. I couldn't imagine feeling hatred for my child; so, major kudos to everyone here who understood they were having serious problems and took steps to fix it.

[Jerri Blank]

Lakeland Mom Accused in Son's Drowning Death Still Unfit for Trial

A 33-year-old Lakeland woman accused of drowning her infant son remains unfit to stand trial.

During a brief Thursday hearing, Circuit Judge Donald Jacobsen concluded Neha Patel needs more treatment before she is competent to face criminal charges against her.

The judge scheduled a hearing on April 11 to evaluate her progress.

"As soon as we are in a position to move forward, we will," said Jacobsen.

Meanwhile, lawyers will continue to take depositions of witnesses, investigate the case and prepare for trial.

A grand jury has indicted Patel, a former Lakeland pharmacist, on charges of first-degree murder in the death of her 1-year-old son, Ishan R. Patel.

The jury's indictment also accuses Neha Patel of aggravated manslaughter of a child for "failing to provide supervision" to her son while the boy was "in a garden tub half filled with water."

She also faces a charge of aggravated child abuse for "violently striking" the boy.

Deputies said her husband, Rasesh Patel, reported Neha Patel and their son missing on Feb. 16.

Rasesh Patel told detectives that his wife returned to their home on Colonel Ford Drive about 2 a.m. the next day with the dead child in a blanket and put the body in a cradle.

He told detectives his wife left the house after telling him she wasn't going to jail and was going to commit suicide.

She was arrested after investigators found her sitting in the family's 2008 Toyota Sienna van at Tampa International Airport.

Authorities have previously reported that Patel suffered from severe postpartum depression and had threatened to commit suicide in the past.

Available court records don't shed much light on Patel's exact mental condition. Mental health evaluations are sealed.

http://www.theledger.com/article/201...1029514/?tc=ar