Authorities on Monday announced that they are searching for a west suburban man suspected of strangling a lawyer last year inside the victim’s Northbrook office.
Aurora resident John Panaligan, 50, was charged with murder in an arrest warrant issued Feb. 8 for the killing of Jigar Patel, court records show.
Investigators say Patel, 36, represented two of Panaligan’s former business partners at the Naperville-based Vital Wellness Home Health company.
They were still embroiled in a years-long legal battle when Patel was found dead about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, 2016, at his office in the 1300 block of Shermer Road, Northbrook police said Monday.
An autopsy found Patel was strangled and ruled his death a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in Prospect Heights.
A month after the slaying, Northbrook police released surveillance images of a person in a trench coat walking with a cane out of the office. Police now say it was Panaligan in disguise.
Panaligan was born in the Philippines and most likely left the Chicago area, but investigators think he is still in the United States. He is described as a 5-foot-5, 140-pound Asian man with brown eyes and black hair.
Police reiterated that the attack was targeted and that there is no threat to the community, but warned that Panaligan should be considered armed and dangerous.
The U.S. Marshals service is assisting in the investigation, and offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information should call (888) 869-4590, or Northbrook police at (847) 664-4181.
