Attorneys are set to begin opening statements regarging the Naresh Bhatt trial. Bhat is accused of
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Lawyers deliver opening statements, first witnesses called in Naresh Bhatt murder trial
Attorneys on both sides of the Naresh Bhatt murder trial laid out their cases in opening statements to the jury on Wednesday before prosecutors began calling their first witnesses.
ABOUT 2:15 PM | PROSECUTORS ADDRESS THE JURY FOR OPENING STATEMENT
"Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's the American dream," Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Sweet said during opening statements. "This trial is going to prove how this defendant was living the American dream, and how it ultimately ended as a nightmare. When the defendant kills his wife, Mamta Kafle, defiles her body, and then conceals her dead body, never to be found again," Sweet added.
The prosecutor opened with a timeline of Bhatt's life — from his time in the services, becoming a US citizen and working as an IT officer with a top secret clearance.
"The evidence at this trial will show you the defendant lied to everyone, to his friends, to his family, to the police, to the press, to this community," the prosecutor said.
The question many people wonder is: how are prosecutors going to prove how Bhatt could have carried out this act without evidence of the body?
"Powerful and persuasive circumstantial evidence," prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they plan to present evidence from the crime scene, such as Kafle Bhatt's blood on the carpet and bathroom tile shower.
"Cleaning a tile floor is much easier than cleaning blood off a rug," persecutors said.
Prosecutors added that the defendant tried to sell his house while his wife was missing.
"She's [Mamta] an endangered missing person. Ask yourselves this question. Why is the defendant getting rid of his assets?" prosecutors asked the jury during opening statements.
Prosecutors also told the jury that Mamta depended on her close work friends to "help get her her own bank account, her own phone, and helped Mamta find another place to stay when the marital strife was at its peak."
As the prosecutor was wrapping his opening statements, he added: "In 2024, the defendant also had a phone. The police looked into the defendant's phone. What did they find? They found his Google searches prior to this murder. The evidence that we will use to prove premeditation comes from the defendant's Google searches. Here are the words the defendant types into Google. What happened if spouse disappears in divorce in Virginia? What happened if spouse disappears. Need divorce. Spouse died in Virginia. These are the search terms the defendant's doing on his phone prior to her murder."
Prosecutors added that Kafle Bhatt was in the United States on a green card. She was apparently working to become an American citizen and never showed up to her interview on Aug. 5, 2024.
She filed "all the appropriate paperwork. She pays the fees out of her own pocket," Sweet told jurors.
He added that Kafle Bhatt got all the way to the end of the process for the final interview and never made it to her appointment and didn't call authorities to notify them she wouldn't be there.
3:00 PM | DEFENSE GIVES OPENING STATEMENT
"There is a hole that the government will not be able to fill for you," the defense said in their opening statement.
Defense attorneys told the jurors to weigh the evidence being presented, saying there are "important fundamental questions that remain and your job as jurors is to weigh people's biases, listen to their motivations, to embellish or to fabricate what time and memory, what the effect of time and trauma has had on their memories," the defense said.
"As you listen to each of the witnesses put forward and as you listen to the Commonwealth paint that picture of Mamta's disappearance, keep in mind their obligation because that black hole will still be there. There will still be a large number of questions when they've laid everything in front of you," the defense added.
AROUND 3:09 | COMMONWEALTH CALLS ITS FIRST WITNESS
Jessica Harasek, the first witness called to the stand, helped hire Kafle Bhatt in the medical-surgical unit.
Harasek noted Kafle Bhatt didn't show up for work, and that's what sparked concern. Harrison called for a wellness check via the police department following Kafle Bhatt not showing up for work two days in a row. Harasek said she was unable to reach her.
"If we're unable to reach them over time, then yes, to contact, then yes," Harrison told the court.
COMMONWEALTH CALLS SECOND WITNESS
Brandon Johnson from the Manassas Park Police Department takes the stand.
Johnson performed a wellness check on Aug. 2, 2024, at the home where the Bhatts lived.
The now-sergeant for the Manassas Park Police recalled speaking with Bhatt about whether he had seen his wife.
"He just started talking. He didn't ask why we were there, but just started to overshare information," Johnson said.
"Can you explain what that means? Over-share information?" prosecutors asked. "Yes, ma'am. Once we asked the question, 'Hey, does Miss Mamta Bhatt live here?' He immediately stated, 'Oh, she left. She went to Texas or New York with her sister, and she smashed her phone," Johnson said.
During testimony, Johnson said Bhatt never mentioned Kafle Bhatt was missing during the wellness check on Aug. 2, 2024. Then during cross-examination, Bhatt's attorney asked whether Johnson told him they were looking for Mamta, and Johnson said yes.
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