With New Baby, Clerk’s Widow Presses On

Almost four months after Sanjay Patel was murdered working the cash register at a gas station convenience store, new life has emerged in his family — his wife Bhavana Chavada gave birth to their son, Om Sanjay Kumar Patel.

Now a single mother with little consistent financial or emotional support, Chavada said she worries about how she will continue to buy Om’s diapers, which are not covered by food stamps, and pay her monthly bills.

“I am happy, and I am sad, too,” she said. ​“The responsibility is a lot. It is too hard. I don’t have a car. It is too hard right now.”

Chavada, who is 48, was six and a half months pregnant with the couple’s first child when Patel was murdered on April 6. Around the time of the funeral, she was racked with grief. A friend drove her to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where she remained under observation overnight, because doctors worried her or the baby’s health would be compromised.

Then members of the Annex’s tight-knit Indian-American community shuttled in and out of Chavada’s home, bringing her food and lending her support.

Now, though her friends and neighbors do drop by to help, ​“everyone has a job,” Chavada said. ​“It’s just me.” Her mother is visiting on a six-month visa from India until November, but she is 77 years old and cannot do as much as her daughter needs.

Chavada had Om on June 29. A few days after giving birth, she got an infection and had to go back to the hospital for several days. She is mostly better, she said, but still weak, exhausted from worry.

Burned in a fire in 2014, Chavada’s arms are scarred with burns and she cannot work. An online fundraiser raised $27,828 out of a requested $50,000 for Patel’s funeral expenses and Om’s future. Chavada said a good chunk of that money is gone, sunk into the funeral and initial investments of raising a child.

“Someone gives you money. It lasts no more than one year, two years,” she said. ​“I think about what to do about my life.”

All she wants to do is stay in the home she shared with Patel and raise their child, she said. Om is healthy. Like any baby, he needs a lot. Chavada is seeking supplies, including diapers, a diaper bag, a larger crib, and baby toiletries, such as shampoo and baby oil. Food stamps cover the formula but not diapers or other supplies, she said. (A 2013 study at the Yale School Medicine found that the inability to afford diapers is a major cause of mental health problems for new moms.)

In May, police arrested three men who they say were connected with Patel’s murder. Patel was shot several times during a robbery of the Citgo gas station and died from his wounds after fighting off the attackers. The alleged murder suspect was charged with felony murder, murder, criminal possession of a pistol and first-degree robbery. The others had already been incarcerated for prior crimes and were charged with felony murder, conspiracy to commit first degree robbery, murder, criminal possession of a pistol and first-degree robbery.

Chavada keeps a photo of Patel on her wall, the same one displayed next to the open casket at his funeral. She shows it to her son so he will have some memory of his father.

“Om is the most important part of my life,” she said.

People wanting to donate money can continue to give through the GoFundMe page. To donate diapers and other needed supplies, leave your contact information at the bottom of the GoFundMe page.