A 58-year-old Indian who was detained by American customs officials last week for not possessing necessary immigration documents while entering the country died in custody at an Atlanta hospital.
Atul Kumar Babubhai Patel was taken in custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Atlanta City Detention Center for two days.
He died on Tuesday afternoon at the hospital with the officials stating the preliminary cause of his demise as complications from congestive heart failure.
Patel arrived at Atlanta airport on May 10 on a flight from Ecuador. US Customs and Border Protection subsequently denied him entry into the country as he did not possess the necessary immigration documents, the ICE said in a statement.
Patel was transferred into ICE custody last week at Atlanta City Detention Center where he received an initial medical screening and was found to have high blood pressure and diabetes.
On Saturday, two days after being in custody, a nurse checking Patel's blood sugar noticed he had a breathing problem, he was taken to hospital where he later passed away.
ICE said it is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is "undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of the incident, as it does in all such cases".
The agency the informed the Indian consular representatives who notified Patel's kin about his demise. The agency added that fatalities in its custody are "exceedingly rare" and occur at a fraction of the rate of the US detained population as a whole.
Patel is the eighth such individual to have died in custody of the agency since April 2017.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)