Jury Convicts Manassas Park Man Naresh Bhatt of Murdering and Dismembering His Wife

Naresh Bhatt murder conviction Manassas Park, Digi Mart USA News (Prince William County, Virginia): A jury in Prince William County, Virginia, has convicted Naresh Bhatt of first-degree murder in the 2024 killing of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt.

Naresh Bhatt was also found guilty of two other felony charges: concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body. He is scheduled for sentencing March 12.

Closing statements concluded Tuesday in the murder trial, and the jury returned its verdict the same day. During testimony last week, the Manassas Park man said he discovered his wife dead in their home and that it appeared she had taken poison.

He said he panicked and, out of fear of being blamed for her death, decided to dismember and dispose of her body. Naresh Bhatt insisted he did not kill his wife.

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Katherine Williams said none of that explanation made sense. “Even though he cut up Mamta’s body, even though he stuffed her in the garbage can, he had nothing to do with her death?

Come on, that is ridiculous,” Williams told the jury. “The defendant murdered Mamta Kafle, dismembered Mamta Kafle and the defendant got rid of her like garbage.”

In her final statement, defense counsel Tracey Lenox said that if there was even the slightest doubt, the jury must acquit Naresh Bhatt of murder. “The possibility, indeed even the probability of guilt in the American system of government must be met not with a guilty verdict,” Lenox said.

Earlier in the day, jurors heard from additional witnesses who said the Bhatts had a troubled marriage, with one witness describing physical abuse of Mamta Kafle Bhatt.

Through tears, Mamta’s colleague and close friend Sunita Basnet Thapa said she knew the marriage was failing and that Mamta told her she was emotionally abused by Naresh Bhatt. “She was tortured for a long time, and she was still tortured,” Basnet Thapa said.

Asked by prosecutor Williams whether her friend had told her about any physical abuse, Basnet Thapa answered, “Yes, she did.”

A psychologist testified that Naresh Bhatt meets the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, explaining that while he was in the military he was sexually assaulted by Maoist rebels who captured and detained him in Nepal.