Relying on circumstantial evidence, prosecutors try to prove man murdered and dismembered his wife

Prosecutors claim 28-year-old Mamta Bhatt was murdered by her husband. But her body was never found.MANASSAS, Va. (CN) — At the end of July 2024, the household of Naresh Bhatt went through 160 gallons of water during a two-hour period — a way-above-the-norm figure that prosecutors presented as evidence Monday in an attempt to convince a jury that Bhatt murdered his wife, dismembered her body and cleaned up the mess.As the fourth week of the murder trial began, Prince William County, Virginia, prosecutors sought to shore up a circumstantial case against Bhatt, 39, who is accused of murder, defiling a body and concealing a body in connection with the 2024 disappearance of Mamta Bhatt, 28. He has pleaded not guilty.Wayne Martin, a public works official in Manassas Park, showed the jury a printout of water usage at the Bhatt household, and the line of figures generally ranged from two gallons to 30 gallons per hour. But on July 31, 2024, the household used 48 gallons between 11 a.m. and noon and 111 gallons from noon until 1 p.m.That much water “would be equivalent to having a faucet open all the way or a severe plumbing issue,” Martin said. But he didn’t suspect plumbing issues, because the water usage dropped to normal levels in the next hour.The testimony was an attempt by prosecutors to prove their contention that the missing woman was murdered. Mamta Bhatt was last seen during a video call on July 29, 2024, weeks before her daughter’s first birthday. Police officers were unable to find her body.Prosecutors also displayed a reciprocating saw that Naresh Bhatt purchased at a Home Depot, confirmed by Mark Matthew Hernandez of Home Depot’s corporate security. Asked whether the saw could be used to dismember a human being, Hernandez responded that he believed so.After Mamta Bhatt disappeared, Naresh Bhatt gave the saw to a landscaper, who later turned it over to police.“Upon opening the saw on the inside I observed reddish brown stains and what I thought looked to be hairlike strands,” testified Andrea Feldman, a George Mason University professor and former crime scene investigator for Manassas Police. She believed the stains were blood. At one point, jurors stood and leaned forward as Feldman showed them the saw.Another witness examined search engine queries made by Naresh Bhatt, a government contractor, in April 2024, roughly three months before his wife’s disappearance. One of hid queries read: “How long does (it) take to get married after spouse dies,” according to Daniel Moore of the White House Military Office, Information Technology, who was asked to examine Naresh Bhatt’s searches. Moore testified that he’d also searched: “How long does (it) take to get married after spouse dead,” and “happy new year message to girlfriend.”Under cross-examination, Moore admitted he was not standing over Naresh Bhatt’s shoulder and thus could not definitively say who wrote those search questions.Prosecutors describe Naresh Bhatt as an abusive husband who offered shifting explanations for his wife’s disappearance.In previous testimony, Feldman described spotting specks of blood on a window in the couple’s bathroom. Officers then used a chemical that detects the presence of blood — even if it is old or has been cleaned up — and discovered a suspected blood stain. Prosecutors also presented footage from an apartment complex security camera showing Naresh Bhatt disposing of trash bags around the time of his wife’s disappearance.Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving is presiding over the trial.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