Naresh Bhatt Found Guilty of Murdering Wife Mamta Kafle Bhatt in Virginia

A jury in Prince William County, Virginia, has found Naresh Bhatt guilty of first-degree murder in the 2024 killing of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. The verdict, returned on Tuesday, also convicted him of concealing and defiling a dead body. Bhatt has admitted dismembering and disposing of his wife's body but has denied killing her.

Defendant's account rejected

During testimony last week, Bhatt, a Manassas Park resident, told the court that he found his wife unconscious at home and believed she had taken poison. He said that when he could not revive her, he panicked, fearing he would be blamed for her death, and dismembered and disposed of her body. He maintained that he did not kill her.

Prosecutors rejected that account. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Katherine Williams told jurors that Bhatt had cut up and discarded his wife's body and that his explanation did not make sense. She said he had "got rid of her like garbage," a remark reported by WTOP News.

Defence counsel Tracey Lenox urged jurors that any reasonable doubt should lead to an acquittal on the murder charge. She argued that a guilty verdict required more than probability.

Testimony about the marriage

Witnesses described a troubled marriage during the trial. Mamta Kafle Bhatt's colleague and close friend, Sunita Basnet Thapa, told the court that Mamta had said she was emotionally abused by her husband. Asked whether her friend had described physical abuse, Basnet Thapa said she had.

A psychologist testified that Bhatt meets the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. The psychologist linked this to an earlier incident in which Bhatt, while serving in the military, said he was sexually assaulted by Maoist rebels who had detained him in Nepal. Jurors also heard six weeks of testimony, including from Mamta's mother, Gita, and her brother, Mahesh, who testified through an interpreter, according to WUSA9.

Disappearance and search

Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 27, 2024, at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, where she worked as a registered nurse, according to police. A friend spoke with her by phone the following day, and she posted a video of herself and her infant daughter on TikTok, according to WJLA.

When she was reported missing, Naresh Bhatt told police and media that he had last seen her at their dinner table several days earlier. Her family said her sudden disappearance was deeply troubling, as their daughter's first birthday was only weeks away. Her body has never been found.

What next

Bhatt could face up to life in prison on the murder charge, plus an additional five years for each body-manipulation charge, according to CNN. The judge revoked his bond, and sentencing is scheduled for March 12. CNN said it had contacted Bhatt's attorney and the prosecutor's office for comment.

Verdict coverage in the report noted that Mamta Kafle Bhatt's family was seen hugging after the verdict, and that one family member thanked a prosecutor.