MANASSAS, Va. — A Northern Virginia jury on Tuesday found 39-year-old Naresh Bhatt guilty on all counts—including first-degree murder, defiling a body, and concealing a body—in connection with the 2024 disappearance and dismemberment of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. Prosecutors argued that Bhatt calculated the murder of the 28-year-old nurse and mother of their young daughter, pointing to a message he sent months prior warning her, “The days are coming that you’ll regret a lot.” The verdict came after just four-and-a-half hours of deliberation following a emotional five-week trial in Prince William County Circuit Court.
Although prosecutors relied on circumstantial evidence because Mamta’s body was never recovered, the trial took a dramatic turn when Bhatt took the witness stand to offer a shocking defense. He denied killing his wife, testifying instead that he found her after she died by suicide and panicked. Fearing police would blame him, Bhatt claimed he decided to dismember her body and dispose of the remains in the trash. Prosecutors dismissed the account as a “made-up crazy story,” emphasizing that Bhatt had repeatedly lied to investigators and initially claimed he had no idea where she had gone.
Defense attorney Tracey Lenox urged the jury of eight women and four men to set aside raw emotion and focus strictly on whether the Commonwealth had proven every element beyond a reasonable doubt. Calling on jurors to act as “inquisitors of doubt” rather than giving in to a natural desire to avenge a family’s trauma, Lenox argued that Bhatt’s panic did not equate to murder. However, Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Sarah Sami countered during closing arguments that Bhatt fulfilled his threat 162 days later, telling the court he “murdered Mamta Kafle, dismembered Mamta Kafle, and got rid of her like garbage.”
The trial drew massive public interest, packing the courtroom with police investigators, healthcare workers, and members of the area’s Nepalese expatriate community. In the front row, Mamta’s mother, brother, and close friends wore her favorite color, red. While Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving demanded strict order as the verdict was read, Mamta’s mother and friends broke into quiet tears in the gallery before joining crowds of supporters who cheered and embraced outside the courthouse.
