The Manassas Park man jailed in connection to his wife’s disappearance returned to court Thursday, where his defense attorney took an unusual legal step. It came as News4 obtained search warrant documents revealing new details about the last moments his wife was seen by anyone except her husband.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt has not been seen for a month. The 28-year-old originally from Nepal moved to the U.S. for an arranged marriage in 2021. She recently missed her baby girl's first birthday.
Dozens of people packed the courtroom on Thursday to show their support for Mamta Kafle Bhatt.
“We are Mamta’s voice,” Holly Wirth, her coworker, said. “And we are going to continue to be in that courtroom to be a voice and a presence for Mamta.”
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Search warrant reveals new details on timeline of Mamta's disappearance
Police filed a search warrant to get a DNA sample from her husband, Naresh Bhatt.
The search warrant made public Thursday provides new details that reveal sharp contradictions in what he said to police and what they learned through their investigation.
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Mamta Kafle Bhatt's husband was arrested at the couple’s home last week on a single charge of concealing a body. But in the criminal complaint police accused him of murder.
“Naresh Bhatt murdered his wife Mamta Bhatt,” the document says.
Investigators say they found evidence to show Naresh Bhatt bought knives, allegedly killed his wife and dragged her body out of their home. Prosecutors previously said there was evidence of pooling blood in the primary bedroom and blood splatter in the primary bathroom.
In Naresh Bhatt’s court appearance Thursday, his attorney took the unusual step of waiving the preliminary hearing – a move that could be designed to get the case quickly to trial.
“They want to get him tried on this charge as soon as possible. And I know in my heart there are going to be more charges to come,” Wirth said.
Investigators focus on Mamta's phone, canceled Uber ride
Investigators have conducted multiple searches at the Bhatt home. A warrant details new information about contradictions in Naresh Bhatt’s story.
One focus is Mamta Kafle Bhatt's phone.
A detective wrote that on July 29 – the last day friends heard from Mamta Kafle Bhatt – there were numerous calls with her husband. After that, all calls went to voicemail.
Naresh Bhatt told police his wife destroyed her phone before July 31 — the day he told police that he last saw her.
But on Aug. 1, her phone was pinging in the Aldie area of Northern Virginia.
Naresh Bhatt told police he was at a cafe there.
The search warrant shows investigators are also trying to learn more about a ride Mamta Kafle Bhatt received the night of July 27. They write she was sitting outside the hospital where she worked with a friend. She ordered and then canceled an Uber ride.
They wrote: “Cameras … showed Ms. Kafle … entering an unknown black four-door sedan driven by an unknown subject at 10:17pm.”'
Mamta's family members arrive from Nepal
As supporters track the criminal case, they’ve also been focused on reuniting the missing mother's 1-year-old daughter with loved ones in Nepal. The child was taken from the couple’s Manassas Park home last week wrapped in a blanket, and friends set up a fundraiser to help get Mamta's family members to the U.S.
Now, there’s some good news. With the help of government officials and the Embassy of Nepal, Mamta Kafle Bhatt's mother and brother have arrived in the US.
"They are in a tremendous amount of pain and where their joy comes from right now is being reunited with their granddaughter," Wirth said.
The next court date in the case is not yet known.
Naresh Bhatt’s attorney also told the judge he intended to bypass the grand jury proceeding, another step to possibly hasten the case. His defense attorney did not respond to News4's request for comment.
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