Naresh Bhatt murder trial: Prosecution expected to rest case Monday
Bhatt murder trial: Prosecution expected to rest case
Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Monday in the murder trial of Naresh Bhatt.
MANASSAS, Va. - Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Monday as the murder trial of Naresh Bhatt enters its fifth week.
Once the prosecution rests, the defense will have the opportunity to present witnesses and evidence. A big question remains whether defense attorneys will call Bhatt to the stand, though defendants maintain the legal right not to testify, which jurors cannot hold against them.
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Bhatt faces charges of first-degree murder, concealing a dead body, and defiling a dead body. He has remained in custody since his August 2024 arrest.
Over the past two weeks, jurors viewed some of the case's most compelling evidence, including a power saw that prosecutors said contained blood and hair fragments. During opening statements, the county’s deputy commonwealth’s attorney identified the tool as a murder weapon.
Prosecutors also presented text messages showing Bhatt arguing with his wife and telling another person he wanted a Colombian woman. The prosecution argued the exchanges established a motive, alleging Bhatt killed his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, because he was ready to move on.
A Prince William County forensics investigator detailed Bhatt’s mobile internet searches, while earlier testimony highlighted surveillance footage showing Bhatt wearing gloves and throwing away bags in trash dumpsters at two apartment complexes.
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The defense has raised several challenges, arguing that communications in the couple's native Nepali language may have been mistranslated and questioning a hairbrush belonging to Mamta Kafle Bhatt that was used for DNA testing.
The case began when Mamta Kafle Bhatt failed to report for work at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center on Aug. 1, 2024. Co-workers requested a welfare check at the couple’s Heather Court home the following day. Bhatt initially told officers he did not believe his wife was missing and claimed he last saw her July 29, though relatives maintained she would never abandon her infant daughter.
Bhatt officially filed a missing person report on Aug. 5, 2024, telling officers his wife had threatened to leave and suggested a divorce. Later that day, authorities classified her disappearance as involuntary.
Police arrested Bhatt on Aug. 22, 2024, after uncovering extensive bloodstains inside the primary bedroom and bathroom of the home. Her body has not been found.
The Source: Information in this article comes from court proceedings and original FOX 5 DC reporting.