Missing woman’s brother recounts her fears as prosecution rests murder case against her husband

Defense attorneys for Naresh Bhatt will target testimony by forensic investigators.MANASSAS, Va. (CN) — Months before her disappearance, Mamta Kafle Bhatt made a disturbing admission about her relationship with her husband during a phone call with her brother: “I am not safe,”That testimony ended the prosecution’s case against Naresh Bhatt, 39. After four weeks of testimony, prosecutors rested their case Monday against the Manassas Park man, whom they contend killed his wife, 28-year-old Mamta Kafle Bhatt, dismembered her body and loaded it into area trash dumpsters.Bhatt has pleaded not guilty. His legal team asserts that the prosecution lacks evidence — specifically, the body of Mamta Bhatt was never found. Prosecutors are attempting to persuade 12 jurors and five alternates that the woman was murdered and did not leave home, abandoning her infant daughter.Taking the stand as the final witness for the prosecution, her brother, Mahesh Kafle, recounted a conversation in which his sister confessed she was mistreated. Speaking with the aid of an interpreter, Kafle, who is from Nepal, recalled that his sister asked him to save a photo that showed her with facial bruises.When she first announced she was going to marry, her brother met Naresh Bhatt and was negatively impressed. “I told her not to get married to this man,” Kafle testified.Prosecutors also called Mandira Shrestha, a longtime friend of Naresh Bhatt, who recalled that after Mamta Bhatt vanished, Naresh Bhatt wanted Shrestha to take back a piece of jewelry she’d given to Mamta.“He asked me to come and collect it because it was mine,” she said, testifying through an interpreter. When Shrestha arrived, Naresh Bhatt decided to give away more: “All of Mamta’s jewelry — and also his ring, his chain. All the jewelry they had.”When she asked why, Bhatt said his mother told him to. “There are a lot of people coming in and out of the house, and it will be safe,” Shrestha testified. If Mamta Bhatt returned, she was told she could return the jewelry. Otherwise, she should give it to Mamta’s mother. Shrestha eventually gave it to the police.Shrestha also testified Bhatt asked her to adopt the couple’s daughter. In fact, Mamta Bhatt’s brother is raising the child.Prosecutors left the jury with images of Mamta Bhatt as a healthy young woman, including a video in which she sang a children’s song with her infant daughter. Another video showed the couple embracing. Watching from his seat at the defense table, Naresh Bhatt wept.DNA testimony linking the young woman to suspected blood stains discovered in the house was also part of the final day’s testimony. Forensic analysts testified about evidence gathered by crime scene investigators using Bluestar, a chemical that detects the presence of old or cleaned-up blood. After spraying the bathroom, blue spots glowed around the tub and in front of the shower, indicating a past suspected bloodstain. Investigators found more evidence of a possible stain in the bedroom carpet.Defense attorneys pushed back, pointing out investigators actually gathered the evidence. Forensic analysts were involved later in the process. Naresh Bhatt’s legal team is expected to rebut this evidence by targeting crime scene techniques used by police and will begin its case Wednesday.Subscribe 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