Crime & Safety

Woodridge Man Ruled Insane, Not Guilty of Murdering Father With Weed Trimmer

Yashesh Desai, 22, was found not guilty of the August 2011 murder of his father by reason of insanity.

A Woodridge man was found not guilty of murdering his father with a weed trimmer by reason of insanity, according to The Chicago Tribune. 

Yashesh Desai, 22, of Woodridge, was accused of his father's murder in August 2011. On Monday, DuPage County Judge Robert Kleeman ruled Desai not guilty based on insanity.

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Desai was charged with first-degree murder in August 2011 after Woodridge police responded to a call and found Desai's father, Sanjiv Desai, lying on a futon in the computer room of his house in Plover Court.

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Desai was also charged with aggravated battery after officials said he resisted leaving his "feces-smeared cell" when it needed to be cleaned, punching and scratching a sheriff's sergeant, as well as biting the officer's finger hard enough to break it, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

According to Facebook, he graduated from Downers Grove North High School and studies chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

In November 2011, Desai was deemed unfit to stand trial on charges he murdered his father and then bit a jail guard that September. Judge Robert Kleeman cited psychiatric reports and the testimony that said Desai is experiencing “psychotic episodes” and showing “bizarre” behaviors.

He was later restored to fitness after a six-month stay at a mental health center. 

On Monday, psychologists testified that Desai was delusional and irrational, the Tribune reported. According to the Tribune, Desai taken back into custody and will be held at the DuPage County Jail until he is further evaluated.

He faces a period of up to 60 years of involuntary commitment at a secure state mental health facility, the Tribune reported. His next court hearing is scheduled for March 5.


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