Wharton waives preliminary hearing

By Linda Cicoira

Without fanfare or commotion, a double murder case that sparked outrage and sorrow from across the Eastern Shore of Virginia was quietly moved to the higher court Monday when the man charged with the deaths of a father and daughter, at a local convenience store earlier this year, waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Forty-four-year-old George Frazier Devon Wharton, of Wharton Road in Accomac, sat up straight on the edge of his front row general district court pew waiting for proceedings to begin. His crisp white jail jumpsuit and matching unblemished white tennis shoes stood out from those faded and dingy outfits worn by other inmates also awaiting hearings.

He and his out-of-town attorney were the first to be called and sat at the defense table while the lawyer reviewed documents with Wharton. The defendant signed some papers, and it was done. The next step will be up to a circuit court grand jury, which will review gruesome details about the shooting and decide whether or not to indict Wharton. He was taken back to the Accomack Jail, where he is being held without bond.

The victims were 56-year-old Pradipkumar Ratilal Patel and his 24-year-old daughter, Urmi Pradiphai Patel. They were working at the family-owned business at the corner of Courthouse Avenue and Lankford Highway on the early morning of March 20 when the incidents occurred.

Wharton is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, second-degree murder, being a non-violent felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of using a gun in a felony.

Court records tell of the victims being shot in the head and of the suspect’s face being seen on a surveillance video. The man was found dead. The woman was rushed to a Virginia Beach area hospital and succumbed to her injuries a couple of days later.