Source: US FBI
Just before midnight, Bhadreshkumar allegedly stabbed Palak multiple times with an edged weapon in what was a painful and horrific murder. There were still customers inside the shop, unaware of what was happening in the back.
After the attack, Bhadreshkumar fled through a rear door. To evade law enforcement and responsibility for his wife’s murder, Bhadreshkumar went back to his apartment, changed clothes, collected his personal belongings, then quickly left the area, taking a cab to Newark, New Jersey. His last known sighting before vanishing was the following morning at Newark-Penn Station.
Realizing that Bhadreshkumar was an international flight risk, local police requested FBI assistance. Bhadreshkumar was charged with Palak’s murder and as soon as it was confirmed he fled the state, a federal arrest warrant was issued, charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Special Agent Jonathan Shaffer from the FBI Baltimore field office has been working on Palak’s case. He noted, “What was common in domestic violence cases like this—that the perpetrator oftentimes expresses remorse immediately after. And yet in this situation, Bhadreshkumar did not. He immediately formulated a plan to evade law enforcement and to flee the area.”
This unprovoked attack has left investigators with many unanswered questions.
The motive remains unclear, other than Palak wanted to go back to India, and Bhadreshkumar was unwilling to let her go.
What we do know, as seen in the video surveillance, is that Palak willingly following Bhadreshkumar to the back of the store where her life was brutally taken.