Sisters: JIYA and PIYA PATEL -- 8 and 4 yo - Asheville NC

Autopsy: NC girls died from chop wounds
MODIFIED WED, OCT 19, 2011 12:25 PM


ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Autopsies indicate two girls who were attacked by their mother with a hatchet died from dozens of chop wounds to the head and neck.

Documents were released Tuesday by Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in the deaths of 8-year-old Jiya Patel and her 4-year-old sister, Piya.

The girls were found dead Aug. 28 in their home in the Oakley community.

Thirty-three-year-old Maiyana Gauri Patel is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Both girls also had cuts on their arms, back, chest and abdomen.

Police say the woman also hit herself in the head repeatedly with the hatchet in a failed suicide attempt. Police say she told them a ghost killed her children.

She's being held in a prison in Raleigh. Her next court appearance is scheduled Nov. 14.


Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/10/19/1579904/autopsy-nc-girls-died-from-chop.html#ixzz1bHv2DUhI

Mother to police: Ghost killed my children

Posted: Aug 30, 2011 2:40 PM CDT
Updated: Sep 27, 2011 2:46 PM CDT

ASHEVILLE, NC (FOX Carolina) -
Court documents revealed new details Tuesday in the case of an Asheville mother accused of killing her two children with a hatchet and then trying to kill herself with it.

Police said they were called to 40 Shannon Dr. on Sunday after they received a call for help.

According to a search warrant, police arrived at the home to find Naiyana Patel injured inside the home. It said Patel's children, 8-year-old Jiya Patel and 4-year-old Piya Patel, were also inside the home. It said Jiya was dead, and Piya died later at Mission Hospital.

The document said the children's father, Lalo Patel, was in the yard when officers arrived.

According to the document, Lalo Patel told investigators that he found his wife in the floor hitting herself in the head with a hatchet. He told investigators that he grabbed the hatchet and threw it outside. He said that he saw his two children lying on the floor covered in blood. He said he then went outside and called for help.

The search warrant said that when Naiyana Patel was interviewed by investigators said claimed that "the ghost killed her children," and that she did not want to live and did not want surgery.

Police said they found a bloody hatchet lying on the front porch of the home.

Naiyana Patel was in the hospital Tuesday afternoon, recovering from her injuries. Police said she will likely be charged with two counts of first-degree murder upon her release.

Friends of the family said Naiyana Patel recently had a child that wasn't carried to term and had been suffering from postpartum depression.

http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/15361134/mother-to-police-the-ghost-killed-my-children

Sisters Jiya and Piya Patel Memorial Service
slideshow

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=B0&Dato=20110901&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=309010062&Ref=PH

posters note:I can't find photos of these little girls

Buncombe Co. Mother's Hearing Continued, Accused Of Killing Children

By: Staff
Published: November 14, 2011
Updated: November 14, 2011 - 2:53 PM

Update: November 14th 2:51 p.m.

Naiyana Patel, the woman facing charges of killing her two daughters with a hatchet and then using it on herself, was due in court Monday in Asheville.

Her hearing was continued. Her next court date is set for January 10.

Update: November 14th 6:35 a.m.

Naiyana Patel is scheduled to appear in court in Buncombe County on Monday in connection with the murder charges against her. Investigators say she used a hatchet to killed her daughters August 28, 2011 then tried to take her own life. Asheville Police have said Patel claimed a ghost was to blame. It is not clear what will hapen at Monday's scheduled hearing. Patel has been held at a facility for women in Raleigh.

7 On Your Side will update this story.

http://www2.wspa.com/news/2011/nov/14/12/asheville-police-investigating-double-homicide-two-ar-2329876/