Naresh Bhatt murder trial continues Thursday after jurors see digital search evidence

MANASSAS, Va. - The murder trial of Naresh Bhatt continued Thursday following the presentation of digital forensic evidence on Wednesday showing internet searches conducted months before his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, disappeared in 2024.

Katherine Zaimis of the Prince William County Police Digital Forensics Unit detailed Naresh Bhatt's recovered Google search history from March 2024. According to forensic investigators, searches included "what happens if a spouse disappears" and "can I divorce if wife lost."

Investigators also identified searches regarding meat cutters, knife sharpeners, hand saws, melatonin dosing, travel from Delhi to Dulles, and vehicle sales at CarMax.

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Bhatt faces charges of first-degree murder, concealing a dead body, and defiling a dead body following his August 2024 arrest.

The case began after Mamta Kafle Bhatt missed two shifts at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center on Aug. 1, 2024, prompting co-workers to request a welfare check on Aug. 2. Bhatt told officers he last saw his wife July 29 and did not believe she was missing, while relatives maintained she would not abandon her infant daughter.

Bhatt filed a missing persons report Aug. 5, 2024. Authorities initially found no evidence of foul play, but later that day reclassified the disappearance as involuntary.

Police arrested Bhatt on Aug. 22, 2024, after finding bloodstains in the couple's home. Investigators recovered a power saw containing hair fragments and gathered evidence showing Bhatt visited multiple trash disposal facilities. The body remains unrecovered.