Pharmacist guilty of killing wife after plot

A PHARMACIST has been convicted of murder after he plotted for years to kill his wife so he could start a new life in Australia with his boyfriend and a £2m life insurance payout.

Mitesh Patel, 37, injected wife Jessica with insulin and strangled her with a supermarket bag in their Middlesbrough home, then staged a break-in to make it look like an intruder had attacked her and bound her with tape.

The couple ran a successful pharmacy together but their marriage was unhappy, with the husband repeatedly seeking sex with men he met on the Grindr dating app.

And he was secretly in a relationship with his “soulmate” Dr Amit Patel, who had emigrated to Sydney and with whom he hoped to bring up his and Jessica’s IVF baby after her death.

The husband was convicted of her murder at Teesside Crown Court after the jury heard Patel had made internet searches dating back years, including “I need to kill my wife” and “insulin overdose”.

Mr Justice Goss told the jury a life sentence was mandatory and he will determine the minimum term Patel must serve behind bars this morning.

He will hear victim statements from Jessica’s grandmother, father and a joint one by her siblings and cousins before he decides on the sentence.

The jury unanimously found Patel guilty after deliberating for around three hours on the 12th day of the trial.

The judge yesterday told Patel: “You have been convicted by the jury and you will be sentenced to life imprisonment.

“I will also fix the minimum term you will have to serve before you can be considered for release in many years to come.”