MANASSAS, Va. - The murder trial of Naresh Bhatt, the Manassas Park man accused of killing and dismembering his 28-year-old wife, pediatric nurse Mamta Kafle Bhatt, continues Tuesday following a day of testimony centered on a power saw examined by forensic investigators.
A Prince William County crime scene investigator testified Monday about examining the power saw prosecutors allege Bhatt used to dismember his wife's body. Bhatt, who has remained in custody since his arrest in August 2024, faces charges of first-degree murder, concealing a dead body, and defiling a dead body.
The case began when Mamta Kafle Bhatt failed to report for her shift at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center on August 1, 2024. Her co-workers requested a welfare check at the couple's Heather Court home the following day after she missed two consecutive shifts. Bhatt initially told responding officers he did not believe his wife was missing, claiming he last saw her on July 29, though family and friends insisted she would never abandon her infant daughter.
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Bhatt called police to file a missing persons report on August 5, 2024. Investigators initially lacked information suggesting foul play because Bhatt told an officer his wife had threatened to disappear and raised the possibility of a divorce. However, authorities officially classified her as involuntarily missing later that day.
Police arrested Bhatt on August 22, 2024, after discovering extensive bloodstains in the primary bedroom and bathroom. According to court documents, investigators recovered the power saw containing hair fragments from the home and gathered evidence showing Bhatt visited multiple trash disposal sites. Her body has not been found.
The Source: Information in this article comes from The Associated Press and FOX 5 DC reporting.