photo by: Richard Gwin

Lawrence Police Sgt. Trent McKinley, right, talks with an officer on scene at the Super 8, 515 McDonald Drive, on June 24, 2015, after a stabbing victim was found just inside the building's front doors.

The sentencing hearing for the man found guilty of stabbing his wife twice last summer was rescheduled Monday afternoon.

Navinkumar Patel, 46, of Shawnee, was arrested in late June 2015 after he stabbed his wife in the abdomen at Lawrence’s Super 8 Motel, 515 McDonald Drive, which he owns. Patel pleaded no contest to felony charges of attempted second-degree murder and criminal threats in March.

Douglas County District Court Judge Robert Fairchild accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a pre-sentence investigation and ordered Patel committed to Larned State Hospital for a mental health evaluation before he is sentenced.

photo by: Richard Gwin

Navinkumar Patel

Patel was scheduled to be sentenced in Lawrence Monday, but had not been transferred from Larned State Hospital, said defense attorney John Kerns.

A previous sentencing hearing for Patel was rescheduled in May because the mental health evaluation had not yet been completed.

Other court hearings have also been rescheduled for Patel, who is a native of India, because he does not speak English and has difficulty understanding court proceedings.

Patel is now scheduled to appear in court on at 1:30 p.m. on July 8.

Depending on Patel’s criminal history, he could face as much as 22 years in prison.