A Virginia man is accused of killing the mom of his kids, then dragging her out of their dwelling and concealing her physique, based on court docket paperwork made public on Friday.
U.S. Military veteran Naresh Bhatt, 37, allegedly Googled “How lengthy does it take to get married after a partner dies” within the months earlier than 28-year-old pediatric nurse Mamta Kafle Bhatt was final seen on July 27, prosecutors mentioned at his first court docket look on Thursday.
Bhatt faces accusations that he abused his spouse, prosecutors mentioned, based on The Washington Publish. When authorities searched their dwelling in Manassas, Virginia, final week, they mentioned they discovered a criminal offense scene suggesting the girl had been killed.
“The amount of blood in that master bedroom and bathroom is indicative of injuries that are not survivable,” Prince William County prosecutor Sarah Sami mentioned in court docket on Thursday, the Publish reported. “Every indication in this case is that Mamta is no longer alive. And the commonwealth can pursue a homicide charge without a body.”
“The crime scene investigator on the scene indicated she had never seen that much blood,” the prosecutor mentioned.
Blood traces indicated that “something was dragged” from the master suite to the lavatory on the couple’s Manassas dwelling, prosecutors mentioned.
Bhatt has thus far been charged with concealment of a useless physique – his spouse’s stays are nonetheless unaccounted for.
Shalev Ben-Avraham, the general public defender representing Bhatt, has mentioned his consumer’s case has been pushed ahead prematurely with out adequate proof. He repeatedly minimized the quantity of blood discovered within the Bhatt dwelling, based on native outlet Inside Nova, calling it “miniscule” and saying “that’s maybe a nosebleed.”
“This particular statute requires that there is a dead body. What they have, to be clear, is blood,” Ben-Avraham mentioned on Thursday, the Publish reported. “[Bhatt] was arrested because there is a huge media frenzy. The chief of the Manassas Park police is under pressure to do something.”
“Blood is not a body part. Blood in and of itself isn’t enough,” he continued. “I have no idea how the magistrate issued a warrant for [Bhatt’s] arrest.”
Ben-Avraham couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Sami argued that the proof towards Bhatt was appreciable and mentioned additional costs would observe, citing the quantity of blood within the couple’s dwelling and Bhatt’s search historical past, which she mentioned was supplied to native police by the U.S. Secret Service.
Though preliminary testing has concluded that the blood within the couple’s dwelling was of human origin, it has but to be linked to the lacking lady.
Earlier this month, prosecutors mentioned Bhatt offered his Tesla, packed suitcases and talked to others about promoting his dwelling after his spouse disappeared. Bhatt’s lawyer mentioned his consumer had no intention of fleeing and that Bhatt was making an attempt to become profitable to supply for the couple’s 1-year-old daughter.
Sami mentioned Bhatt bought knives on July 30 – the final day Mamta Bhatt’s household heard from her – and likewise went to a Walmart in a neighboring county to purchase Lysol and Febreze. When a search warrant was carried out on the Bhatt dwelling final week, a bottle of carpet cleaner that Bhatt had bought on July 31 was discovered empty.
Prosecutors additionally cited earlier police responses to the Bhatt dwelling on Heather Courtroom for home violence. In February, Manassas police have been summoned to the house for “disorderly conduct” – on the time, Mamta Bhatt informed police that her husband “would not give her her documents and destroyed her phone,” prosecutors mentioned.
One of many lacking lady’s associates reportedly informed police that Mamta Bhatt was the sufferer of home abuse and “suffered bruises in the months leading up” to her disappearance, Inside Nova reported.
On Monday, Bhatt was denied bond at Prince William County Juvenile and Home Courtroom. A decide dominated that he was a hazard to the neighborhood and a flight danger.
The disappearance of Mamta Bhatt, a UVA Well being Prince William Medical Middle nurse, launched a number of searches and captured the eye of the neighborhood at giant.
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“What we heard was worse than we could have imagined,” her pal, Holly Wirth, informed The Washington Publish after a listening to. “I don’t think we were quite prepared for the image that they painted of what likely occurred in that master bedroom and master bathroom.”
Wirth informed the Publish that though she and a dozen different supporters in court docket had been “trying to respect [Mamta Bhatt’s] privacy,” she was glad that the allegations of home abuse had been aired within the open.
“All of us have heard and seen and been texted things that we did not want to share,” Wirth mentioned. “But you know what, it’s in the record now. She was abused. And going forward, we are not afraid to call it what it is.”