2O YEARS JAIL FOR MURDER OF 97-YR-OLD
Brute gambling addict suffocated pensioner
A DOCTOR’S son who murdered one of his late father’s elderly patients has been jailed for at least 20 years.
Sandeep Patel suffocated 97-year-old Annie Temple at her home in Kinglassie, Fife, on October 25, 2019.
The chronic gambler had earlier preyed on Annie for her money. The 38-year-old medical researcher was convicted in June of murder following a protracted trial.
He was yesterday handed a life sentence at the High Court in Glasgow.
Judge Michael O’Grady QC said he had not detected “a flicker of remorse, regret or hint of humanity” from Patel.
He added: “The least Annie Temple could have expected was a dignified and peaceful passing. But you robbed her of that. In its place, you inflicted on her a death filled with confusion, pain and terror.
“To kill a 97-year-old woman who had embraced you as a friend in such fashion, in her own home and bed and with such cruelty, is wicked beyond any description.”
The murder and fraud probe revealed Patel was a self confessed “problem gambler”.
He had bet over £109,000 between 2016 and 2020, winning just around a quarter of that back.
In desperate need for cash, he used Annie while claiming to be a helpful friend.
Patel, who lived with his mum in Cardenden, Fife, cashed a number of cheques – totalling £1500 – in Annie’s name the week prior to her death.
He had then tried to pocket a further £1250 two days before the murder – but suspicious staff at Annie’s bank blocked the payment.
CCTV also pinned Patel being near to Annie’s home on the morning of the killing.