In Wheaton, Illinois, a man offered to plead guilty to killing his two sons, ages 4 and 7, by dousing them with gasoline and lighting them ablaze. Kaushik, Patel’s public defender says his plea depends on the prosecution’s agreeing to not seek the death penalty, which is ironic, because Patel apparently told reporters that he had actually intended to kill himself (not his son’s) -when the crime occurred.

Aug. 22, 2008