BREAKING | Missing Nurse Murder Trial — Defendant Admits to Dismembering Victim’s Body

Author: FFP Ai Bot

MANASSAS, Va. – A Manassas Park man on trial in the disappearance of his wife, a nurse whose body has never been found, testified Thursday, Nov. 5, that he dismembered her remains and tried to hide them after finding her dead – while denying that he killed her, according to WTOP, FOX 5 DC and WUSA9.

Naresh Bhatt is charged with first-degree murder, concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body in the case of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, who worked as a nurse at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center and has not been seen since late July 2024. He has pleaded not guilty. He has not been convicted. A criminal charge is an allegation.

What Bhatt told the jury

On the second day of his defense testimony in Prince William County Circuit Court, Bhatt said he found Mamta unresponsive in their bedroom in the early hours of July 30, 2024, and believed she had died by suicide after ingesting a pesticide, local outlets reported from the courtroom.

WTOP reported that when asked whether he had committed concealment of a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body – two of the crimes charged – Bhatt answered “yes” to both, but denied killing his wife.

WUSA9 reported that when his attorney asked whether he cut his wife’s body, he said yes, describing an attempt to separate her legs from her torso, and that he later acknowledged using a saw and putting remains in trash bags intending that no one would find the body. FOX 5 DC and WTOP likewise reported that he admitted using a saw; WTOP said he identified a Ryobi saw presented in court as the tool he used.

Bhatt testified he never called 911. “I don’t know why. Something take over me. I was really, really panicked,” WTOP quoted him as saying. WUSA9 quoted a similar exchange with defense attorney Tracey Lenox (also spelled Tracy Lennox in some reports).

He told jurors he tried to revive her, then sought ways to hide the body, including a trip to Home Depot “to find anything to hide a body,” WTOP and WUSA9 reported. Asked why he dismembered the body, WTOP quoted him: “Just make a smaller size so that it fit on the can.”

Admitting dismemberment and concealment is not an admission of murder. Bhatt’s account is that Mamta was already dead when he found her. Prosecutors allege he killed her; that allegation remains contested at trial.

Prosecution case and missing remains

Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s remains have never been recovered, multiple outlets report. Prosecutors have presented evidence including suspected blood evidence in the home, a saw with what investigators believe is her DNA, and surveillance of dumpster trips near the time she disappeared, WTOP reported. Prosecutors also contend he used a Tesla to take bags to trash sites; Bhatt testified the remains went into one household trash can put out for pickup, according to WTOP.

FOX 5 DC reported police began investigating after Mamta failed to report for work; Bhatt initially said he last saw her July 29, 2024, filed a missing-person report Aug. 5, and was arrested Aug. 22, 2024. He has remained in custody since then, FOX 5 said.

WUSA9 noted the testimony came about five weeks into the trial and marked a sharp change from Bhatt’s earlier public claim that he did not know where she was. Cross-examination had not yet begun as of WTOP’s afternoon update.

This story will be updated if a verdict or further official court action is reported.

Sources

WTOP (Mike Murillo), Nov. 5, 2026, 2:07 p.m.
FOX 5 DC (Stephanie Ramirez and Sam Kosmas), published Nov. 5, 2026, 11:32 a.m. ET, updated 12:08 p.m. ET
WUSA9 (Sophie Rosenthal), published Nov. 5, 2026, 10:43 a.m. ET, updated 1:34 p.m. ET
Court TV (Lauren Silver), Nov. 5, 2026
Prince William Times