Live updates from the Naresh Bhatt murder trial

Judge Kimberly A. Irving set sentencing for March 12, 2027. Bhatt faces 20 years to life in prison on the murder count (FOX 5; WJLA). This live coverage has ended. Read the verdict story and follow the case file.

After about four hours, the jury found Naresh Bhatt guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, and guilty of concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body (WJLA; Prince William Times). Her body has never been found. He testified that she died by suicide, and the jury rejected his account (CNN).

“This verdict represents an important measure of justice for Mamta Kafle Bhatt,” Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth said (WJLA).

Jurors began deliberating just before 1 p.m. (WJLA).

Prosecutors rested Tuesday morning, and the jury heard closing arguments (WJLA). Prosecutor Sarah Sami told jurors, “He had to admit what he could not deny and deny what he could not admit” (WJLA). Chief Public Defender Tracey Lenox told them, “The commonwealth has not ruled out suicide as the reason for the physical evidence they showed you” (Prince William Times).

Prosecutors planned to finish their rebuttal and rest Tuesday. Closing arguments and deliberations would follow, and Irving told jurors they could stay as late as they wanted once deliberating (WJLA; WJLA). FOX 5 reported the case could go to the jury this week (FOX 5).

Irving ruled Tuesday morning that jurors may hear about an alleged 2021 incident in which, prosecutors say, Bhatt threatened a former roommate with a gun. Prosecutors offered it to challenge his claim that he is a peaceful person (WJLA).

She kept out a second proposed witness who hadn't been properly disclosed, and let prosecutors call a toxicologist over defense objections. Jurors came in about 9:27 a.m. (WJLA).

Two Manassas Park police officers testified that Bhatt never mentioned a suicide to them (WJLA).

Mamta's mother, Gita Kafle, returned to the stand. “My daughter is not like that. I don't think so. She would not commit suicide any time,” she said. Her brother, Mahesh Kafle, testified that she had said she was afraid of Bhatt (WJLA).

Judge Kimberly A. Irving told the lawyers that one proposed jury instruction “doesn't appropriately cover the concealment or defiling charges,” and told them to fix it before Tuesday (WJLA).

Bhatt testified that the way he treated his wife was one of several factors in her death. “I was one of the factors that led her to suicide,” he said. Asked again whether he had physically abused her, he said, “No” (FOX 5; WTOP).

Psychologist Barry Rosenfeld testified that Bhatt meets the criteria for PTSD. On cross-examination, he said he didn't independently check many of Bhatt's accounts (WJLA; WTOP).

Elizabeth Lu Pierri, a former NCIS deputy director, testified as a bloodstain expert that she couldn't rule out either homicide or suicide. The defense then rested (WJLA; FOX 5).

Court resumes Monday, Nov. 9. The defense plans to question Bhatt again, call another witness and rest. Prosecutors said they're ready to proceed (WJLA).

Bhatt testified that he found his wife dead in their bedroom early on July 30, 2024, and that he believes she died by suicide. He said he didn't call 911 because he panicked (NBC4; WTOP).

He testified that he then dismembered her body and disposed of it, and he denied killing her. Bench Watch isn't describing that testimony further (WJLA; WTOP).

Prosecutor Matthew Sweet opened his cross-examination by telling Bhatt, “You're a liar.” Bhatt answered, “Yes,” and admitted lying to police, family, friends and reporters (WTOP; Patch).

“You didn't find Mamta dead, right? You killed her,” Sweet said. “Never,” Bhatt answered. He also testified, “It wasn't like that. By the time I found her, Mamta was dead” (WTOP).

Bhatt was the defense's first witness. He described growing up in India and Nepal and coming to the U.S. in 2016, joining the Army Reserves and becoming a citizen (WJLA).

He agreed he'd been “a little emotionally cruel” to his wife and testified that he was the one who brought up divorce during arguments. “It's not very unkind, but not kind as well,” he said (WTOP).

He denied ever physically abusing her and denied having a girlfriend. Court adjourned before cross-examination (WJLA).

Mahesh Kafle testified through an interpreter that he told his sister not to marry Bhatt, and that she told him, “I am not safe” (WTOP; NBC4; Courthouse News).

An analyst hired by prosecutors testified that the blood evidence was consistent with cleaning. Bench Watch isn't describing that evidence further. (NBC4)

The prosecution rested. The defense asked the judge to dismiss all three charges, and Irving denied the request (DC News Now; NBC4).

Bank witnesses testified about accounts in Mamta's name, and a CarMax employee said Bhatt sold his Tesla on Aug. 16, 2024 (WJLA).

Mamta's brother, Mahesh Kafle, began testifying. He said she told him she was suffering abuse and that Bhatt wanted a divorce. Jurors were released early, after testimony ended around 11:15 a.m. (WJLA).

A county police digital forensics examiner testified about internet searches recovered from Bhatt's digital history. FOX 5 reported March 2024 searches including “what happens if a spouse disappears”; the defense said many of the searches lacked timestamps (FOX 5).

Immigration officials testified that Mamta's citizenship interview was set for Aug. 5, 2024, and that her case closed after she missed it (WJLA).

A Manassas Park officer testified he responded to a domestic call at the home on Feb. 14, 2024; no one was arrested or charged. The defense repeatedly objected (WJLA).

Neighbors testified that Bhatt never told them his wife was missing. “We found out on social media,” one said (WJLA).

A cell-records analyst testified that Mamta's phone last connected Aug. 1, 2024, near a Chantilly gas station (WJLA). State forensic scientists testified about DNA testing. Bench Watch isn't describing that evidence further. (WJLA)

A Manassas Park public works official testified about a spike in water use at the home on July 31, 2024. On cross-examination, he said he reviewed only about a month of records (WJLA).

A witness who reviewed Bhatt's work-account searches testified about April 2024 searches on remarrying after a spouse dies (WJLA). Forensic witnesses also testified. Bench Watch isn't describing that evidence further. (WTOP)

Property managers described video from July 30 and 31, 2024, that prosecutors say shows Bhatt's Tesla and bags left at dumpsters (WJLA).

A former basement tenant testified he helped move bedroom furniture at Bhatt's request before police arrived on Aug. 2, 2024 (WJLA).

After the jury left, Irving said she was “not confident” prosecutors would finish on time and told the lawyers to streamline. “You can't have three more weeks,” she said (WJLA).

Jurors finished the police interview, in which, WJLA reported, Bhatt said his wife was happy in the relationship (WJLA).

A former colleague testified that she saw a bruise on Mamta's face in December 2023. The jury was sent out for about an hour while lawyers argued over testimony about alleged past acts; WJLA didn't report a final ruling (WJLA).

Waste-company witnesses testified that searching a landfill would be impractical (WJLA).

Store and camera witnesses traced Bhatt's purchases and his Tesla's movements on July 30 to Aug. 4, 2024. FOX 5 reported that grocery-store video placed him at a store July 30, the day before the date he gave police (WJLA; FOX 5).

A friend and former roommate testified that Mamta was reliable. “She's not difficult to reach,” she said (WJLA).

Jurors began watching an Aug. 12, 2024, police interview (WJLA). “I never lie,” Bhatt said on the video (NBC4).

Crime scene investigators testified about evidence from the bedroom. On cross-examination, the defense asked whether officers may have moved items before investigators arrived. Bench Watch isn't describing that evidence further. (WJLA)

Manassas Park police Capt. Dustin Walker testified that he couldn't find in phone records the Aug. 1, 2024, calls Bhatt said he made to his wife (WJLA). Jurors also saw Walmart video of Bhatt shopping July 30 and Aug. 1 (WJLA).

A T-Mobile records custodian testified that the last outgoing call from Mamta's phone was July 29, two days before the date Bhatt gave as the last time he saw her (WJLA).

Judge Kimberly A. Irving limited an AT&T records witness to facts after the defense said it had no notice she was an expert. “She can only testify as to facts,” Irving said (WJLA).

The county's former lead crime scene investigator testified for nearly three hours about testing in the home. Bench Watch isn't describing that evidence further. (WJLA)

Jurors watched more of Det. Claudia Ventura's roughly 90-minute body-camera interview with Bhatt. She testified that he never contacted her about his missing wife (WJLA).

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Tracey Lenox stressed that Bhatt let police into his home and answered their questions. Asked whether Bhatt ever declined to give her access, Ventura said, “No” (NBC4).

A nurse who worked with Mamta testified that she last saw her at work on July 27, 2024 (WJLA).

Testimony resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, with the rest of a detective's body-camera interview from August 2024 (WJLA).

Gita Kafle testified through an interpreter: “My daughter is missing. I came to look for her.” A friend, a coworker and police officers also testified. The judge allowed a friend's testimony to show Mamta's state of mind over a defense objection (WJLA).

A 17-member panel of 12 jurors and five alternates was seated (WTOP). Prosecutors promised “powerful and persuasive circumstantial evidence.” Defense lawyer Tracey Lenox told jurors the case has a “black hole” (WTOP).

Bhatt pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body. Judge Kimberly A. Irving denied a defense request for a delay and Bhatt's request that she step off the case (Potomac Local).