Jan 17, 2008 6:02 pm US/Central
1 Of 2 Burned Brothers Dies, Dad To Face Charges
Police Suspect Father Doused Them With Gasoline, Then Set Them Ablaze
GLENDALE HEIGHTS, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Vishv and Om Patel were doused with gasoline and severely burned inside their Glendale Heights home.
CBS
The youngest of two brothers severely burned in November died Thursday. Their father is accused of dousing them with gasoline and setting them on fire and he could face murder charges.
CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reports that the boy's tragic death comes on a day his community was calling for blood donors.
At Om and Vishv Patel's school in Glendale Heights, officials held a blood drive Thursday in honor of two brothers who haven't been back to school since police say they were lit on fire by their father.
Teacher Julie Lackage said, "It's very sad. I can't even imagine how the mom feels. And I would do anything to help them."
But nothing can help young Om. After fighting for life for two months, the four year old pre-kindergarten student succumbed to his burns on Thursday.
Teacher's assistant Gail Block said, "He was so happy every day to come in and see us and be with the kids."
Those kids he loved to be with had planned to send a banner to their injured classmate Thursday night. Now it will go to his mom instead.
Block has a picture of Om on her keychain. "To remember him and look at his face every once in a while and remember how cute he was. How sweet," Block said; a sweet boy who, along with his brother, endured the unthinkable inside their Glendale Heights home.
Investigators said that's where their father used toys to lure his children into a bathroom. The boys were placed in the shower and doused with gas and lit on fire. Then their father carried them downstairs and buckled them into his car. But instead of driving them to the hospital he drove them to his brother's house in Hanover Park.
A spokesman for the DuPage County state's attorney's office says their father will face charges for allegedly dousing his sons with gasoline and setting them on fire.
DuPage County state's attorney's office spokesman Paul Darrah says Patel is under watch by police at the hospital and when he's released, he'll be transferred to DuPage County Jail.
Patel will face first-degree murder and aggravated arson charges.
After surviving the five-mile drive authorities were called and the children were taken to the hospital. Doctors didn't expect them to survive the night. But for two months they hung on in drug induced comas until Om's heart gave out Thursday.
"He was just the happiest little boy and so cute," Block said; a cute and happy boy whose life came to an end in the saddest way possible.
The blood drive continues until 7:30 Thursday night at Pheasant Ridge School at 43 E Stevenson Dr. in Glendale Heights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
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