Naresh Bhatt tells court he dismembered wife's body, denies killing her

Naresh Bhatt, the Virginia man accused of murdering his wife, Nepali nurse Mamta Kafle Bhatt, told a court on Thursday, November 5, that he cut up her body after finding her dead, but he denied killing her. Annapurna Post, Kathmandu Post and Nepal Press reported the testimony, given on the second day he spoke in his own defense at his murder trial in Prince William County, Virginia.

What Bhatt told the court

On Wednesday, November 4, Bhatt testified that he had never physically abused his wife and described their marriage as close and mutually dependent, with occasional arguments, according to Nepal Press and Makalu Khabar, which cited the U.S. broadcaster Fox 5 DC. He said that after she moved to the United States he helped her with her studies, job applications, paperwork and learning to drive. He also said her behavior changed after their daughter was born in August 2023 and that she may have had postpartum depression, which he did not take seriously because he was working two jobs for 16 to 17 hours a day.

On Thursday, November 5, he gave a different account of July 30, 2024. Kathmandu Post, citing Fox 5, reported that Bhatt said he found his wife that morning in the bedroom of their home, with vomit on her and on the floor that he said contained blood, food particles, capsules and Celphos, an agricultural pesticide. Kathmandu Post and Kathmandupati reported that he described her as dead; Nepal Press reported that he said he found her unconscious. All three reported that he said he tried to revive her with CPR.

According to Nepal Press and Kathmandupati, Bhatt said he was terrified and, instead of calling the police, decided to hide the body. Both outlets reported that he told the court he cut the body with a saw because it would not fit in a household trash bin, and that he put the remains in the trash. Kathmandu Post reported that he said he began separating the legs from the torso, moved the body to the bathroom and stopped that day because he lacked the strength to continue.

Bhatt denied killing her. Nepal Press and Kathmandupati reported that he claimed his wife took her own life and that he hid her body out of fear.

The account differs from what he first told police. According to Nepal Press, Makalu Khabar and Kathmandu Post, Bhatt initially said he had last seen his wife on July 29 and that she had talked of leaving and of divorce, and he reported her missing on August 5, 2024. Kathmandupati noted that for more than two years he had said he did not know where she was.

The charges and the evidence

Bhatt is charged with first-degree murder, concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body, according to Kathmandu Post, Nepal Press and Kathmandupati. He has been in custody since his arrest on August 22, 2024, and has pleaded not guilty, Kathmandu Post reported. Prosecutors allege that he killed his wife on or about July 30, dismembered her body and disposed of the remains in trash bags. Her body has not been found.

Investigators found bloodstains in the couple’s master bedroom and bathroom and an electric saw with hair on it, according to Kathmandu Post, Nepal Press and Makalu Khabar. Nepal Press and Makalu Khabar reported that prosecutors have presented blood found in the house, forensic test results, the saw, mobile phone records and data on the movements of Bhatt’s vehicle. A forensic expert for the prosecution testified that it was extremely likely that most of the blood on the bedroom carpet was Mamta’s, and prosecutors maintain that blood and DNA on the saw are linked to her. Earlier, Kendrabindu reported, the judge refused a defense request to dismiss the case, ruling that the circumstantial evidence, including DNA tests, blood samples, internet searches and surveillance footage, was enough for the trial to go forward.

Kathmandu Post wrote that the case centres on whether circumstantial and forensic evidence can establish that a killing took place when the victim’s remains have never been found. The trial has been running for about five weeks, Kathmandupati reported, and no verdict had been reported as of Friday, November 6.