Husband of missing Manassas Park mom Mamta Kafle Bhatt denied bond

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. ( DC News Now ) — A Prince William County judge denied bond on Monday morning to Naresh Bhatt, the husband of missing Manassas mother, Mamta Kafle Bhatt.

Authorities arrested 37-year-old Naresh Bhatt on Thursday, Aug. 22, and charged him with concealment of a body. The arrest came after the Manassas Park Police Department (MPPD) executed numerous search warrants at the couple’s home.

The 28-year-old mother has not been seen since July 27, according to MPPD. The couple had a one-year-old child together.

It took the judge less than a minute to deny the bond for Naresh Bhatt following the arguments from the defense and prosecution. The court ruled that he was a flight risk and a danger to the community.

The prosecution claimed that in addition to trying to clean up blood in their Manassas Park home, Naresh Bhatt physically abused his wife and made Google searches on his government-issued laptop in April regarding the death of a spouse.

The prosecution read those searches aloud verbatim in court, “how long does take to marry after spouse dies” and “what happen debt after spouse dies.”

Crime scene investigators from Prince William County came in to help search the house last Wednesday before authorities arrested Naresh.

Prosecutors said in court that one of the crime scene investigators said they had been doing this job since 2011 and had “never seen this much blood” at a scene.

CSI crews utilized BLUESTAR forensic technology to detect blood that may not have been visible. Prosecutors said the “entire shower floor glowed” in the couple’s master bathroom.

They also added that fibers on the bedroom carpet appeared manipulated like someone had scrubbed it clean. Investigators found a nearly-empty bottle of carpet cleaner purchased by Naresh back on July 31 nearby.

When they pulled up the carpet, investigators said there was evidence that blood had seeped under the carpet, making it appear as if someone had been dragged into the bathroom.

Investigators also found, tucked away in a closet, blinds that appeared to be missing from a bathroom window. According to investigators, those blinds had small splatters that tested positive for blood.

“That amount of blood indicates to law enforcement, injuries that are not survivable,” prosecutors said. “Everything indicates that Mamta is no longer alive.”

New details in the courtroom also revealed that on Aug. 1, Mamta’s phone pinged in Loudoun County near a body of water while Naresh’s phone was turned off or on airplane mode for two hours. The body of water was also near a cafe Naresh told police he had visited.

The Commonwealth said that Mamta was a victim of domestic violence.

Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s former co-worker, Holly Wirth, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom.

“Mamta was a victim of domestic abuse, it is in the record. We have been trying to respect her privacy, and all of us have seen and heard and gotten texts of things that we did not want to share to respect her privacy,” said Wirth. “We know that going forward, we aren’t afraid to speak up and call him what he is [Naresh Bhatt]. He is an abuser.”

In the courtroom, the defense argued that there was no probable cause in the case since the missing mother had not been found.

The defense called the case a “media frenzy” with a large community presence, alleging Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo was pressured into filing charges and did so without consulting the Commonwealth’s Attorney.

Naresh’s lawyer also mentioned the brief TV interviews Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth did with reporters outside Bhatt’s home right after the arrest, where she said, “We don’t know if [Mamta] is alive or dead.”

His lawyers also explained why Naresh sold the family car, a Tesla, and his attempt to sell the house, saying Naresh lost his job due to the investigation and needed money.

The defense compared charging someone with concealment of a dead body, when no dead body has been recovered, to charging someone with a DUI when there’s “no evidence of a high BAC and you saw them driving a couple days ago.”

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