This story just keeps getting stranger.
Last month saw shocking reports of a California family surviving a brutal 250-foot cliff-drop in their Tesla:
Then, a couple of days later, it emerged that the father driving the car may have intentionally driven it off the cliff in an attempt to kill his entire family:
Now, the alleged killer's wife — who initially accused him of the attempted mass murder — says she doesn't want him to be prosecuted for the alleged crime:
Dharmesh Patel, 41, pleaded not guilty last week to three counts of attempted murder and two enhancements — for the severe injuries his wife, Neha, 41, and 7-year-old daughter suffered.
But defense attorney Josh Bentley shocked the courtroom when he said Neha doesn't want her husband prosecuted – even though she reportedly screamed that he "intentionally tried to kill us" to first responders, KNTV reported.
I'd love to see the look on the judge's face when that was read out.
It's not clear why exactly Mrs. Patel wants the charges dropped. Any number of explanations could be given. But prosecutors believe they can make the charges stick even without her cooperation (though maybe not):
"Our belief is that regardless of whether she is cooperative, we believe we have sufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," Gallagher said.
Legal analyst Dean Johnson is not so sure. He said what happened inside the car is very important.
"I wouldn't say crucial but if you can't get the testimony of the spouse, if you can't get the testimony of the children and you don't have an internal video, you've got a very tough case," Johnson said. "You've got a purely circumstantial case."
