RESTON, Va. -
Fairfax County Police have still not identified the suspect wanted in connection with a murder in Reston over the weekend.
Investigators have a description of the man and a composite sketch, but they don't know who he is.
Fairfax County Police say Bharat Patel, 40, died from blunt force trauma after getting into a fight with another man near the swimming pool in the apartment complex where he lived. At least one witness saw the fight, called police and gave investigators a description.
Patel lived no more than a quarter mile from where he worked, a Dunkin' Donuts in the Hunter Woods Plaza shopping center that had its grand opening just last Wednesday. Patel owned the place with a partner. One of two he had a stake in, according to police.
But early Saturday morning, Patel's body was found next to a power box after an odd series of circumstances.
Police were first called to the Winterthur Lane complex for a fight in progress.
"Officers arrived, and unfortunately, it happens frequently, we showed up and there was no one around," said Officer Eddy Azcarate with the Fairfax County Police. "The fight had dispersed. So the officers did a quick check of the area and then left."
But an hour later, police said on Saturday that they were back for the report of a missing person, finding Patel's body in the bushes near the pool.
"The detectives are very confident that the fight did involve Mr. Patel and we know for a fact the missing person we were looking for was Mr. Patel," said Azcarate.
What is unclear is what sparked the fight and whether Patel knew his attacker.
Police towed two cars from the scene and appeared to recover at least one fingerprint from the door of another.
A witness to the fight was able to give police a description of the man, which was then turned into a composite sketch.
The witness told investigators the attacker was an Indian male between 25 and 35 years old.
Some residents of the complex told FOX 5 the murder has the neighborhood on edge.
"It's really terrifying," said Ann Baisden. "It didn't really hit me until we saw evidence once all the trucks were gone and the cops were gone. That was really disturbing to me."
Investigators have not ruled out any motive at this time and are still looking for help.
FOX 5 was unable locate any of Patel's family members. His business partner at the Dunkin' Donuts store declined to comment.
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Man dead in Reston after missing person report
Composite sketch of suspect wanted in murder of Bharat Patal of Reston, Va.
