State Police Take Another Look At Cold Case Murders Of Patel Family

By |

The violent murders of Champaben and Anita Patel, a mother and daughter from Windsor, have been a mystery since they happened on March 21,1996. But cold case detectives from the Connecticut State Police, with the help of the Windsor Police Department, are taking another look at the evidence now, Brian Foley, the executive aide to James Rovella, who heads the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said. “Investigators from the State of Connecticut Cold Case unit had begun to give this case some additional attention pre-pandemic,” Foley said. “Now that things have settled [down], the case and its evidence are again being reevaluated…The reevaluation particularly relates to the exploration of possible resubmission of evidence as DNA science has evolved a great deal.”

The Patels’ homicide is one of the cold cases listed on the Connecticut State Police’s Cold Case website. Anita Patel, 32, was stabbed 14 times in her kitchen, and her body was burned due to gasoline being poured around her while Champaben Patel, 54, was strangled and her body was burned in her bedroom, according to the website.

Fines & Sanctions

State Orders Rocky Hill Nursing Home To Hire Consultant

By |

State health officials have fined the operator of a Rocky Hill nursing home $5,000 and ordered it to hire an independent nursing consultant after finding dozens of violations, most of which involved the care of residents. Under the order, Apple Rehabilitation of Rocky Hill must hire an independent consultant who is a registered nurse. The consultant must be at the facility 32 hours per week and be on-site at various times during all three shifts. The consultant, who must be pre-approved by the state Department of Public Health (DPH), will work for at least six months to ensure “the safety, welfare and well-being of the residents” and to make sure the facility is obeying laws, the consent order said. The consultant is responsible for assessing, monitoring and evaluating direct resident care “with particular emphasis and focus on the delivery of nursing services,” according to the consent order.

Fines & Sanctions

Shelton Nursing Home Fined, Ordered To Hire Monitor

By |

A Shelton nursing home owned by Brian Foley – who was sentenced to three months in a halfway house in January in a campaign corruption scandal – has been fined $5,000 for lapses in care and ordered to hire a nursing consultant. On Feb. 5, Foley, the CEO of Apple Rehabilitation, signed a consent order with the state Department of Public Health in which he agreed to the fine and monitoring by the state to correct multiple violations at Apple Rehab Shelton Lakes. The action by DPH, which was posted on its website Tuesday, is unrelated to the scandal that ensnared Foley, his wife, Lisa Wilson-Foley, and former Gov. John G. Rowland. In unannounced inspections between June 4 and June 11, 2014, DPH found lapses in care that involved residents at the home who fell, lost weight, became dehydrated or were neglected, the consent order states.