Bond denied for husband accused of killing missing Virginia mom after prosecutors reveal disturbing new evidence, report says

By Alisha Ebrahimji and Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — A judge denied bond for Naresh Bhatt for the second time at a Friday court hearing in Virginia after prosecutors revealed disturbing new evidence they say connects him to the disappearance and presumed murder of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, according to CNN affiliate WJLA.

Prince William County prosecutors revealed in a courtroom packed with Kafle Bhatt’s family and friends a K9 cadaver dog detected signs of a dead body in the bedroom and bathroom of the couple’s home. They also played footage showing Bhatt, 37, driving around different communities, disposing of trash bags while wearing gloves after his wife went missing, according to WJLA.

The search continues for Kafle Bhatt, 28, a mother to a young daughter, who authorities say is presumed dead. No one has been able to locate the beloved Nepalese community member since July 27, when she was last seen at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, where she worked as a registered nurse in the medical surgical unit, CNN previously reported.

Her husband is accused of killing her in their home, then dragging her body outside, according to a criminal complaint. Bhatt faces a felony charge of concealment of a body, according to court records. He was taken away in handcuffs on August 22 after authorities conducted a search at the couple’s home.

Bhatt has not been formally charged with murder, but the preliminary criminal complaint states “on or about July 30, 2024, the accused, Naresh Bhatt, murdered his wife, Mamta Bhatt.”

Bhatt’s defense attorney has argued there is no probable cause to keep him in custody, as Kafle Bhatt’s body has not been found, WJLA reported. Bhatt’s attorney also said the couple were in the process of separating and Kafle Bhatt left to visit family out of state, according to WJLA.

The new evidence on Friday put a spotlight on Bhatt’s movements in the days after his wife was reported missing, as prosecutors told the court he was captured on camera driving his Tesla – on some occasions during the night – disposing of trash bags in dumpsters and trash compactors, CNN affiliate WJLA reported.

In Loudoun County, near where Kafle Bhatt’s cell phone last pinged, video camera footage showed Bhatt dropping a bag inside a donation bin – prosecutors say police told them found inside the bag was a bathmat with blood on it, according to WJLA.

Bhatt sold his Tesla on August 19 after prosecutors had asked him if they could search it, WJLA reported.

After the hearing, Kafle Bhatt’s friends, family and supporters held a news conference recounting the testimony they heard in court.

“The gravity of the evidence that… (prosecutors) brought forward was stuff that we were absolutely unprepared for, that really talked to the fact that Mamta is murdered,” said Holly Wirth, one of Kafle Bhatt’s former co-workers. “She was systematically dismembered, she was put in bags… Horrible things were done to her,” Wirth said.

The days after Mamta was last seen

Police visited the couple’s home in Manassas on August 2 after Kafle Bhatt’s co-workers called for a wellness check on August 1. Kafle Bhatt worked two days a week at the hospital and was expected to work on August 1 and 2. Officials said they grew concerned after she did not show up to work or call.

When police talked to Bhatt, he “provided additional information” and told investigators he did not want to report her as missing at the time, police said.

Three days after the wellness check, Bhatt, a former Fairfax County police recruit and former US Army Reserve automated logistics specialist, reported her missing and told investigators he last saw his wife at the dinner table on July 31 and hadn’t seen her since.

Detectives conducted an exhaustive investigation from August 5 to 8, they said, and found there was significant lack of recent contact between Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer and on social media, so they elevated her missing status to involuntary/critical missing person status.

On August 21, detectives searched the couple’s home, though no details were provided at the time about what prompted the search.

Prior to that search, investigators executed 10 search warrants and conducted “hundreds of interviews related to this case,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said that same day.

When asked if there was a “person of interest” in Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance, Lugo said her husband has “been a point of interest and everybody knows that,” adding Bhatt had stopped being cooperative with police. That was a departure from the department’s news release on August 15, which said, “The husband, friends and co-workers have all been cooperative throughout the investigation.”

Judge previously denied bond for Bhatt in August

A judge ordered Bhatt to be held without bond during a court hearing late last month, saying he posed a danger to the community, CNN affiliate WUSA reported.

On July 30, investigators said Bhatt was seen at a Walmart buying a pack of three knives, two of which were unaccounted for after the search of the couple’s home, according to WJLA. A day later, he was seen at another Walmart location buying cleaning supplies.

Investigators found what appeared to be blood pooling and blood splatter in the home’s main bedroom; the bed appeared to have been moved, blocking a closet; light pink stains were found on bedroom carpeting after the bed was removed; and pools of blood were found in the bathroom, “as if something was dragged across the floor,” along with blood pooling on the shower floor, WJLA reported from the arraignment last month.

When investigators removed the bathtub, they saw what they believed to be blood in the caulking, WJLA reported.

It’s still unclear to whom the blood found in the couple’s home belongs.

A number of the cleaning supplies Bhatt purchased were also found in the home, which appeared to be in disarray, according to law enforcement details revealed at the arraignment, WJLA said.

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