A husband accused of murdering his wife and hiding her body allegedly made incriminating internet searches before she disappeared.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, a pediatric nurse from Manassas Park, Virginia, was last seen on July 28, even missing her daughter’s first birthday, and is presumed dead.
Her husband Naresh Bhatt, 37, has been charged with concealing a body, but though prosecutors said he did it, they have not yet charged him with murder.
Naresh in April searched for ‘how long does it take to get married when spouse die’ and ‘what happen to debt died spouse’, prosecutors alleged in court on Monday.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, a pediatric nurse from Manassas Park, Virginia , was last seen on July 28, even missing her daughter’s first birthday, and is presumed dead
Her husband Naresh Bhatt, 37, has been charged with concealing a body, but though prosecutors said he did it, they have not yet charged him with murder
He used his work computer to make the searches, and the US Secret Service, to whom he has ties and a security clearance, gave police the search history.
Prosecutors also revealed Naresh sold his Tesla days before his arrest on August 22, but police managed to track it down at a local dealership and are searching the car’s computer.
Naresh also tried to sell the family home, and police found he had packed up their possessions when they arrived, including passports for him and his daughter.
Police used blue light to find bloodstains all over the couple’s bedroom and bathroom that had been cleaned, and evidence a body was dragged through the house.
Defense lawyers claimed in court the blood was from a nosebleed.
Mamta was last seen at her job at UVA Health Health Prince William Medical Center on July 27, and spoke to a friend on the phone on July 28, police said.
She also posted a video to her TikTok of her daughter climbing up the stairs the same day.
Mamta’s husband, Naresh Bhatt was named a person of interest in the case, and had not been cooperating with the investigation, police said. Today, he was marched out of their home in handcuffs
The couple in front of their Virginia home when Mamta was expecting
Police visited the house on August 2 for a welfare check after she didn’t show up to work and colleagues became concerned.
Naresh told them he last saw his wife on July 31 and didn’t want to report her missing because she was with family in Texas.
However, Mamta, who is of Nepalese descent, has no family in the US, according to prosecutors and friends.
Naresh finally reported her missing three days later, and made a tearful public appeal for her to come home.
But police believe he lied about the timeline and Mamta was already dead by July 31.
Prosecutors also told the court about domestic violence allegations Mamta made against her husband.
She claimed to Manassas Park Police that Naresh destroyed her phone and refused to hand over her passport and other important documents.
Naresh claimed she destroyed her own phone, but prosecutors said it continued receiving messages and and calls until August 1, when it died.
The court heard friends told police they saw bruises on her body and offered to help her get out of the allegedly abusive marriage.
Bhatt’s shock arrest comes days after he made an emotional TV appeal for his wife’s safe return
Officers search the contents of the home and are in the back of he house
In February, Mamta posted in the Facebook group ‘Separated, Divorced, Single Moms of Virginia, Maryland and DC’ that she has a six-month-old baby and in the process of a separation.
‘I work 2 days a week and my husband is not helping to take care of baby. He is saying, that if I leave baby with him he will send child to custody. Is it possible? I need help for child care,’ she said.
‘I need help from social worker and need some advice.’
Robin Kuppusamy, the missing mom’s friend, shared in a post on August 12 expressing her concerns for her friend.
‘Multiple women and myself have been talking to her on our separation divorce group on Facebook to find her help since she was leaving her spouse until she dropped off the radar,’ Kuppusamy wrote.
She added, ‘she would have never left her daughter behind.’
Mamta also shared that her and her husband were still living together but that she no longer has any money. She wrote, in part, ‘I don’t have money now too he withdraw all money from joint account’
Social media posts reveal Mamta had pleaded for help from other mothers in the area
The City of Manassas Park Chief of Police Mario Lugo said at a press conference on Wednesday they have a few people of interest in the case including, Bhatt. He added that he is ‘not cooperating with them in their investigation.’
Earlier in the day, a search warrant was executed at the family home. During the presser, Lugo confirmed that Mamta’s husband was not cooperating with the investigation,’ local Fox5 DC reported.
Since she went missing, the police chief said he and his team have been actively searching for the young mother, and following up on every lead.
So, far he said there have been more than 100 leads, and they have executed more than 10 search warrants. Forensics is involved as well.
He explained that detectives have also been in touch with the Nepalese community.
On August 14, Bhatt was present during an unplanned press conference with community leaders and concerned neighbors held outside of the police department.
At the time, he expressed gratitude to the community for their help. He said, ‘I need your help in a positive way. Thank you for doing what you are doing, keep doing what you are doing during this difficult time.”
She asked one of the women in the post that she doesn’t have money as he withdrew it all from a joint account
He also told the news outlet that his wife’s disappearance has taken a toll on him and his 11-month-old daughter.
‘I’m really tired. Tired, exhausted – physically, mentally, economically. I’m suffering,’ he told the news outlet. ‘I’m suffering a lot.’
That same day, nearly a dozen volunteers searched the Blooms Park Trail, where Matma often went to with her baby daughter.
Her husband was reported to have not have participated.
Sammy Choudhary, a friend and neighbor of the missing woman, who helped organize the search grew emotional while speaking to Fox5 DC.
‘If anything happened to her. I want her to get justice. I don’t think anybody should go through this. There is a person missing.’
