Testimony is due to resume on Tuesday, October 13, in the trial of Naresh Bhatt, a Virginia man accused of murdering and dismembering his wife, paediatric nurse Mamta Kafle Bhatt.
The first week of proceedings in Prince William County Circuit Court heard from members of Mamta’s family and friends, who described difficulties in the couple’s relationship before she disappeared from their Manassas Park home.
Bhatt, who has been held without bail since his arrest in August 2024, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, concealing a dead body and physically defiling a dead body. Mamta’s remains have never been found.
Prosecutors are expected to call 95 witnesses during the trial, which is scheduled to continue for several weeks. The defence is expected to present 17 witnesses and has argued that the prosecution’s case is based on insufficient evidence and testimony from people biased against Bhatt.
The case began after Mamta failed to report for work at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center on August 1, 2024. Colleagues requested a welfare check at the couple’s home the following day after she missed two shifts.
Bhatt initially told police that he did not believe his wife was missing and said he had last seen her on July 29. He later filed a missing-person report on August 5, telling an officer that Mamta had threatened to disappear and had discussed divorce.
Family and friends told investigators that Mamta would not have voluntarily abandoned her infant daughter. Police formally classified her as involuntarily missing on the same day.
Investigators arrested Bhatt on August 22, 2024, after finding substantial bloodstains in the main bedroom and bathroom of the property. Court records also say a power saw containing hair fragments was seized and that Bhatt was seen visiting several sites where rubbish was disposed of.
Prosecutors have described the evidence as circumstantial, including blood and DNA allegedly linked to Mamta that was found inside the home and on the saw. They claim Bhatt gave the tool to a landscaper after his wife’s disappearance, allegations he denies through his plea of not guilty.
