Woodridge man allegedly kills dad with weed trimmer
BY DAN ROZEK Staff Reporter drozek@suntimes.com August 15, 2011 12:16PM
Updated: November 16, 2011 1:29AM
A Woodridge man accused of beating his father to death with a weed trimmer will undergo a psychological evaluation after he blurted out bizarre, nonsensical answers Monday during his first court hearing.
“When did you last work?” DuPage County Judge John Demling asked 21-year-old Yashesh Desai at one point during his bond hearing.
“The beginning of time, maybe,” answered Desai, who appeared via a video link from the DuPage County Jail.
When initially questioned by police about his father’s death, Desai talked about Godzilla, X and Y chromosomes and Turks — then disparaged his father, prosecutors said after his hearing.
Desai has a history of psychiatric problems and was expelled from the University of Illinois last year after brandishing a knife at other students, authorities said.
He is charged with murdering his sleeping father by pummeling him with a lawn tool in the family’s west suburban home, authorities alleged.
Sanjiv Desai, 47, died of “massive” head injuries after being beaten early Sunday with the weed trimmer, which was found broken and blood-stained in the house, DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said.
Yashesh Desai’s younger brother was awakened by the attack and called 911 about 3 a.m. Sunday, telling a dispatcher that “my brother just killed my father,” officials said.
When police arrived, Yashesh Desai was standing outside the house with blood smeared on his hands and clothes, prosecutors said. His brother and mother were with him.
Demling set bail for Desai at $2 million and ordered psychological testing for him.
Several Desai relatives declined to comment as they left the Wheaton courtroom following the hearing.
