Finding missing woman’s body unlikely, jurors hear in murder trial of husband

Asked why his wife left, Naresh Bhatt responded, "I don't know. That's the problem."MANASSAS, Va. (CN) — In the days following Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance, prosecutors say her husband tossed heavy-duty bags containing her dismembered remains in trash compactors around northern Virginia.But uncovering the proof — body parts in an area landfill — would be virtually impossible, according to John Poague, co-founder of Patriot Disposal. “It would have to be luck,” he testified Tuesday.The body of Mamta Bhatt, 28, was never found, and prosecutors are attempting to persuade 12 jurors and five alternates she was murdered and did not simply leave home in July 2024. Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, 39, is on trial, charged with her murder, defiling a body and concealing a body in Prince William County, Virginia, Circuit Court. He has pleaded not guilty.The lack of a corpse is an obstacle that prosecutors must overcome. To that end, they called William Hall, director of solid waste in Page County, who testified as to the expense and environmental impact of digging up a landfill in a search for body parts.Jurors also watched a recorded interview between a police detective and Naresh Bhatt, who was asked to rate his truthfulness on a scale of one to 10 — one being someone who lies all the time, 10 being someone who never lies. Bhatt told police he never lies. Asked if he did anything to cause his wife to be missing, he said, “No.”When questioned about why his wife — a nurse and the mother of an infant — left, he responded, “I don’t know, that’s the problem.” He said Mamta was happy in the relationship. But he also said she had left him before and the two had fought.Asked if someone might do something to his wife, Bhatt responded, “I don’t know. I don’t have any clue.”Now in the third week, prosecutors are building a case based on circumstantial evidence. Tuesday’s witnesses presented impressions and recollections: The couple’s babysitter recounted how Mamta Bhatt would check up on the infant and how the child always arrived neat and clean. After Mamta disappeared, Naresh Bhatt delivered the baby unbathed and in stained clothes. A friend of Mamta’s recalled feeling uncomfortable with Naresh.But when prosecutors attempted to present a colleague’s recollection regarding domestic violence, Judge Kimberly Irving limited the testimony on technical issues involving rules of evidence.The testimony builds on evidence prosecutors have presented including images of Bhatt purchasing knives, heavy duty trash bags and cleaning fluids at various stores. A crime scene investigator described using Bluestar, a chemical that detects the possible presence of blood that is old or has been cleaned up. After spraying the couple’s bathroom, blue spots glowed around the tub and in front of the shower, indicating a past suspected bloodstain. More evidence of a possible stain was found in the bedroom carpet.Soon after Mamta Bhatt vanished, friends began to look for her. Naresh Bhatt offered shifting explanations. While searching the couple’s house, officers found a wallet with three of her credit cards.The Bhatts’ daughter was within weeks of her first birthday when her mother vanished. Early in the trial, the lead prosecutor, Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Sweet, argued the young mother would not have missed her baby’s milestone.Categories / Criminal, TrialsSubscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads