VA MAMTA KAFLE BHATT: Missing from Manassas Park, VA - 31 July 2024 - Age 28 *TRIAL IN PROGRESS*

Manassas Park mom disappears under 'involuntary circumstance' police say

Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, has been missing since July 31.

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Manassas Park mom disappears under 'involuntary circumstance' police say​

Manassas Park Police say a mother is considered to be missing under "involuntary circumstance" after not being seen since July 31.

Investigators released information about the missing person's case on Aug. 8.

Friends tell us Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, never showed up to her Aug. 1 shift at Inova Fairfax Hospital where she worked as a pediatric nurse. Bhatt's former roommate Nadia Navarro says she does not understand why it took so long for police to notify the community that her close friend was missing.

"I last heard from her personally on July 28th. She called me a couple times, but I was asleep. And I got a call from someone I met at Mamta's baby shower and she asked me if I knew where Mamta was," Navarro told WUSA9 in a Manassas parking lot as she organized a search party for her friend.

Over the weekend Navarro launched a Facebook group dedicated to sharing information about Bhatt's case. The group went from social media to actually conducting searches in Prince William County.

Navarro says she met Bhatt when she first came to the United States and they both bonded over their experience being immigrants. She says Bhatt is originally from Nepal and the two grew so close they considered each other family.

"Mamta is not an impulsive person, she's a very responsible person, she's a very calm person. So to hear, that she might be missing, I really doubt she would run away," Navarro added.

Navarro says she has a very difficult time believing that the first-time mother would leave her 10-month-old daughter.

After being at the Manassas Park Police Department for hours, we found Bhatt's husband, Naresh Bhatt.

"I am suffering through a lot," Bhatt told WUSA9.

Bhatt did not want to go into detail about the case but told WUSA9 that he was calling on the community to help him bring his wife home.



In a statement, Manassas Park Police wrote:

"This case is active and ongoing. What we can share at this time is the following: the investigators have conducted several follow-ups with neighbors, friends, co-workers and the husband. The investigators are also utilizing several investigative tools to help in an attempt to locate Mamta Kafle."
Media - MAMTA KAFLE BHATT: Missing from Manassas Park, VA - 31 July 2024 - Age 28

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Lawyers deliver opening statements, first witnesses called in Naresh Bhatt murder trial

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.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Naresh Bhatt gave saw with evidence to landscaper, prosecutors say

Naresh Bhatt is accused of killing Mamta Bhatt, his wife, in Manassas Park. Here’s what the prosecution and defense argued during opening statements.

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Naresh Bhatt gave saw with evidence to landscaper, prosecutors say​

A Northern Virginia man accused of killing his wife, Mamta Bhatt, gave a saw to a landscaper in an effort to get rid of evidence, the prosecution argued. That saw was later found to have her blood and DNA on it, they said.

Although Mamta Bhatt's body has never been found since she disappeared from their home in Manassas Park in July 2024, attorney Matthew Sweet told the jury the prosecution would present evidence proving Naresh Bhatt murdered and dismembered her body.

During opening statements Wednesday, Sweet said one piece of evidence includes a saw that Naresh Bhatt allegedly handed over to a landscaper who was working on a house in their neighborhood. The landscaper later brought the saw to police after realizing Bhatt's wife had disappeared, Sweet said. Investigators took samples from the saw, which matched Mamta Bhatt's blood and DNA, he said.

Sweet also argued during his opening statement that Mamta would not have run off a couple of weeks before her daughter's first birthday.

"How does a brand new mother, Mamta, leave her brand new baby? Throughout this trial it will become crystal clear. The answer to that question every time is premeditated first-degree murder," Sweet said.

The prosecution argued forensic evidence from the home, suspicious Google searches and Naresh Bhatt's statements prove his guilt. But the defense told the jury they should focus on what they called gaps in the evidence.

"There is a sort of black hole at the time of Mamta Kafle's disappearance and it's a hole where evidence should be, a hole that the government will not be able to fill for you. They're going to try to fill the gap with ideas and speculations and guesses, but not with actual fact. There will be things at the conclusion of the evidence that you just won't know," Naresh Bhatt's attorney Tracey Lenox said.

Prosecutors previously said they have video showing Naresh Bhatt dropping large, heavy-duty garbage bags into dumpsters and trash compactors throughout Northern Virginia. They believe Mamta Bhatt’s remains were in the bags.

 

[testerv]

Naresh Bhatt gave saw with evidence to landscaper, prosecutors say

Naresh Bhatt is accused of killing Mamta Bhatt, his wife, in Manassas Park. Here’s what the prosecution and defense argued during opening statements.

www.nbcwashington.com

Naresh Bhatt gave saw with evidence to landscaper, prosecutors say​

A Northern Virginia man accused of killing his wife, Mamta Bhatt, gave a saw to a landscaper in an effort to get rid of evidence, the prosecution argued. That saw was later found to have her blood and DNA on it, they said.

Although Mamta Bhatt's body has never been found since she disappeared from their home in Manassas Park in July 2024, attorney Matthew Sweet told the jury the prosecution would present evidence proving Naresh Bhatt murdered and dismembered her body.

During opening statements Wednesday, Sweet said one piece of evidence includes a saw that Naresh Bhatt allegedly handed over to a landscaper who was working on a house in their neighborhood. The landscaper later brought the saw to police after realizing Bhatt's wife had disappeared, Sweet said. Investigators took samples from the saw, which matched Mamta Bhatt's blood and DNA, he said.

Sweet also argued during his opening statement that Mamta would not have run off a couple of weeks before her daughter's first birthday.

"How does a brand new mother, Mamta, leave her brand new baby? Throughout this trial it will become crystal clear. The answer to that question every time is premeditated first-degree murder," Sweet said.

The prosecution argued forensic evidence from the home, suspicious Google searches and Naresh Bhatt's statements prove his guilt. But the defense told the jury they should focus on what they called gaps in the evidence.

"There is a sort of black hole at the time of Mamta Kafle's disappearance and it's a hole where evidence should be, a hole that the government will not be able to fill for you. They're going to try to fill the gap with ideas and speculations and guesses, but not with actual fact. There will be things at the conclusion of the evidence that you just won't know," Naresh Bhatt's attorney Tracey Lenox said.

Prosecutors previously said they have video showing Naresh Bhatt dropping large, heavy-duty garbage bags into dumpsters and trash compactors throughout Northern Virginia. They believe Mamta Bhatt’s remains were in the bags.

It’s no wonder some of these people are never found. Look at the lengths they go to to get rid of the evidence.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Mamta Bhatt's friend says Naresh was abusive, controlling before her disappearance

Testimony continues in the trial of Naresh Bhatt, who is accused of killing his wife, Mamta Bhatt, in Manassas Park, Virginia.

www.nbcwashington.com

Mamta Bhatt's friend says Naresh was abusive, controlling before her disappearance​

Mamta's mother, Gita Kafle, became emotional when asked how often she used to speak to her daughter.

"A daily basis, like, morning and evening," she said on the witness stand via an interpreter. She was visibly upset and wiped her eyes with a tissue throughout her testimony.

Kafle said calls with her daughter suddenly stopped one day in July 2024. She testified she tried calling Naresh after not being able to reach Mamta for a couple of days, but that Naresh didn't pick up.

When he finally spoke with her a few days later, Naresh told her that Mamta had gone to stay with friends, Kafle said.


Another key witness for the prosecution Thursday was Sarita Neupane, who was a close friend to Mamta.

Four months before Mamta disappeared, Neupane said she saw Mamta walking outside while crying hysterically. She said she asked her what happened and brought her inside her home.

Mamta then stayed with Neupane for nearly two weeks while her and Naresh fought, the family friend said.

Neupane testified that in the months before Mamta's disappearance Naresh was abusive and hit her. She said Mamta had to reschedule their baby girl's rice ceremony, a tradition in Hindu culture to celebrate a baby's first consumption of solid food, because she had a large bruise on her face.

Neupane said the bruise was the result of Naresh hitting Mamta during a fight because he claimed she wasn't cleaning the house.

Naresh was also controlling, Neupane said, and allegedly shut off Mamta's cellphone, blocked her access to money and wouldn't allow her to drive his car or get her own car.

She said she was trying to help Mamta get some independence by helping her set up her own bank account and start the process to become a U.S. citizen. Mamta was a green card holder.

Naresh Bhatt trial in murder of wife wraps its first week

The first week of Naresh Bhatt's murder trial ended Thursday with testimony from Mamta Kafle Bhatt's mother, a close friend, and police officers.Bhatt is accuse

wjla.com

Naresh Bhatt trial in murder of wife wraps its first week
The first week of Naresh Bhatt's murder trial ended Thursday with testimony from Mamta Kafle Bhatt's mother, a close friend, and police officers.


On Tuesday, jurors are set to finish watching Ventura's hour-long interview from one of her bodycam videos.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Naresh Bhatt murder trial resumes Tuesday with bodycam video

The murder trial of Naresh Bhatt is set to resume Tuesday in Prince William County, Virginia, with jurors expected to continue watching body camera footage of a

wjla.com

Naresh Bhatt murder trial resumes Tuesday with bodycam video
The murder trial of Naresh Bhatt is set to resume Tuesday in Prince William County, Virginia, with jurors expected to continue watching body camera footage of a police interview conducted after he reported his wife missing.

‘The room lit up': Detective on Naresh Bhatt case testifies on blood evidence

When asked about Mamta Bhatt’s disappearance from Manassas Park, husband Naresh Bhatt floated a theory about MS-13.

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‘The room lit up': Detective on Naresh Bhatt case testifies on blood evidence​

The lead detective on the case of a Northern Virginia woman who disappeared two years ago testified Tuesday about the moment crime scene investigators conducted a test designed to show blood evidence.

Prince William County Detective Claudia Ventura described when crime scene investigators used Bluestar in the Bhatts’ home. It’s a chemical applied to a physical surface that chemically reacts with blood and illuminates blue when lights are turned off.

Investigators applied Bluestar on the home’s floor and to the primary bedroom, primary bathroom and down a hallway, Ventura said.

“After you saw the application of this Bluestar liquid in the master bedroom, what, if anything, did you see next?” prosecutor Matthew Sweet asked.

“So, the lights were turned off and the room lit up,” Ventura said.


Ventura spoke about interviewing Naresh Bhatt three times in the family’s home amid an intense search for Mamta.

Ventura asked Naresh Bhatt where he thought his wife could be.

He said he had heard people talking about the gang MS-13 in the area, which the detective said she thought was odd. No evidence suggested any link between Mamta Bhatt’s disappearance and MS-13.


In the Bhatts’ bedroom, Ventura said she noticed Lysol and cleaning products in the closet. The placement of the bed struck her as odd.

“This is another closet, and the bed headrest is on top of the frame of the closet,” she testified.

Prosecutors claim he moved the bed and other furniture to cover up blood-soaked carpet.

During the defense's cross examination of Ventura, public defender Tracey Lenox hammered home that Naresh Bhatt opened up his home to police and answered every question they asked.

“Was there any point during, really, any of these three encounters with him that he declined to give you access to any part of the house?” Lenox asked.

“No,” Ventura replied.

Prosecutors said that while he was cooperative, his story repeatedly changed.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Testimony continues in Naresh Bhatt murder trial, including family phone records

Wednesday marked the sixth day of the Naresh Bhatt trialand the fourth day of witness testimony. Bhatt is accused of killing his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, and h

wjla.com

Crime scene investigator testifies in Naresh Bhatt's murder trial
Wednesday marked the sixth day of Naresh Bhatt's murder trial and the fourth day of witness testimony.

Commonwealth calls Andrea Feldman to the stand. She testified for nearly three hours.

Feldman is a full-time professor at George Mason University. At the time of Kafle Bhatt's disappearance, she was employed with the Prince William County Police Dept as a crime scene investigator and testified she was the main crime scene agent in this case.

Feldman walked jurors through the evidence she helped to collect and process from the Bhatts' house. Among other things, she testified investigators found zip ties, cleaning supplies including stain remover, four kitchen knives in a drying rack by the sink and two iPhones in the kitchen – one of which was in a cabinet, without power. She said they also found a pink wallet inside a TV stand in the den, with three credit cards in Mamta Kafle's name.

Feldman pointed in pictures to what she described as suspected blood stains in the master bathroom, including on the window sills. She said she took swabs of each suspected blood stain so they could be tested.

Feldman said investigators checked the master bedroom and bathroom for any blood that wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye using Bluestar technology. How that works, she explained, is they spray a solution that produces a blue color when the chemical reacts to iron in the blood cells. She said Bluestar can still detect blood that has been cleaned up.

She said the Bluestar indicated suspected blood in both rooms, including in the shower, in the tub and on the bedroom carpet.

The Commonwealth also brought out physical evidence: two window blinds, one which was found in the master bathroom (the second window there had no blinds) and the other one was found in the walk-in closet of the master bedroom.

When Feldman showed jurors the blinds from the closet, she pointed out several sticky notes on it that she said she marked there to indicated suspected blood.

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/crime/naresh-bhatt-murder-trial/naresh-bhatt-murder-trial-mamta-kafle-bhatt-day-4/65-e3389567-ee0c-452a-a818-05b80f4e7d1c

Images of suspected blood stains shown to jurors at Naresh Bhatt murder trial​

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

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New video shows Naresh Bhatt shopping for knives day after Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last heard from​

The day that investigators believe Mamta Kafle Bhatt died, Naresh Bhatt bought a set of three kitchen knives at Walmart.

Prosecutors on Thursday showed videos of Naresh buying knives and fruit on July 30, 2024, the day after Mamta was last heard from.

Erika Delgado, the custodian of records at the Manassas Walmart Supercenter on Liberia Avenue, testified Thursday.

Naresh went to the Walmart twice: first, around 8:30 a.m. July 30, 2024, and second, around 4:50 p.m. Aug. 1. Delgado pulled surveillance video of Naresh walking around the store on both occasions.

On July 30, Naresh bought a pack of three kitchen knives, bananas and gala apples.

One of those knives was found inside the Bhatt house by crime scene investigators. But the other two have never been found, Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew Sweet said in his opening statements.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

‘I never lie': Naresh Bhatt's interrogation played in court

Mamta Bhatt disappeared in July 2024. Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, is on trial for murder and is accused of dismembering and disposing of her body.

www.nbcwashington.com

‘I never lie': Naresh Bhatt's interrogation played in court​

A Northern Virginia man accused of killing and dismembering his wife, Mamta Bhatt, told an investigator after her disappearance that he never lies.

Prince William County jurors watched video of Naresh Bhatt's interrogation in court Monday.

"On a scale of one to 10 — one being you're not honest at all, you lie about everything, and 10 being you're a unicorn and you never lie — how would you put yourself?" a Manassas Park police captain asked Bhatt.

"I never lie," Bhatt replied.

"You never lie?" the detective said.

"Never lie," Bhatt said.



They walked the jury through the many errands Naresh Bhatt did on the day of and days after his wife disappeared in July 2024.

Surveillance video shows him buying gloves from Home Depot and heavy duty garbage bags from Lidl.

At Walmart, Naresh could be seen buying air fresheners, cleaning sprays and Clorox wipes.

He made several trips to multiple stores — some of them on the same day, prosecutors said.

The prosecution also played a video of Naresh throwing something away at a gas station. But a witness testified it might have just been paper.

One of Mamta's friends, Nadia Navarro, testified Monday that she was uncomfortable around Naresh after Mamta disappeared.

She said he approached her at a birthday party they threw for the Bhatts' baby, just a few weeks after Mamta went missing.

"He said he needed to tell me something," she said.

Navarro said she never found out what Naresh wanted to tell her because she didn't want to be alone with him.



Last week, jurors saw an 8-foot by 10-foot section of carpet investigators removed from the Bhatts' primary bedroom. Crime scene investigator Joseph Restino testified that samples he took from the carpet tested positive for the presence of blood.

Photos of blood stains, zip ties, knives and cleaning products were also presented to the jury.

Prince William County Detective Claudia Ventura said the Bhatts' bedroom "lit up" when crime scene investigators used Bluestar, a chemical applied to a physical surface that reacts with blood and illuminates blue when lights are turned off.

Investigators also removed the bathtub from the primary bathroom. Prosecutors showed the jury photos of what they said are blood stains seeping through the caulking and slightly pooling beneath the tub. Investigators said more blood was found inside the drain of the standing shower.

Evidence photos also show cleaning supplies on top and underneath the sink, which prosecutors claim Naresh Bhatt used to cover his tracks and clean up the crime scene.

Naresh Bhatt's defense attorney suggested that sloppy police work might have tainted the crime scene.

She said some officers investigating at the home weren't wearing the proper PPE and one officer left trash in the Bhatts' kitchen after eating a hot dog.

 

[Kimster]