A Virginia man is accused of killing the mother of his children, then dragging her from her home and hiding her body, according to court documents made public Friday.
Prosecutors said at his initial court appearance on Thursday that U.S. Army veteran Naresh Bhatt, 37, had Googled “how long does it take to get married after spouse dies” in the months before Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old pediatric nurse, was last seen on July 27.
According to prosecutors, Butt is accused of abusing his wife. The Washington PostAuthorities said they found a crime scene during a search of her Manassas, Virginia, home last week that suggested the woman had been murdered.
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The suspect, Naresh Bhatt, 37, a U.S. Army veteran, was charged with concealing a body and was jailed without bail. (Prince William Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center)
“The amount of blood found in the master bedroom and bathroom indicates injuries that were not survivable,” Prince William County Prosecutor Sarah Sami said in court on Thursday, according to The Washington Post. “All the evidence in this case indicates that Mamta is no longer alive, and the state can bring murder charges even without a body.”
“Criminal investigators at the scene stated they had never seen such a large amount of blood,” the prosecutor said.
Prosecutors said blood stains indicated “something was dragged” from the master bedroom to the bathroom in the couple's Manassas home.
Bhatt has previously been charged with concealing a body, and his wife's body is still missing.
Public defender Shareef Ben Abraham, who represents Butt, said his client's case was being pursued prematurely without sufficient evidence and, according to local media, he had repeatedly downplayed the amount of blood found in Butt's home. Inside the NovaHe called it “very slight” and said, “It's probably a nosebleed.”
“This particular law requires the presence of a body. Quite frankly, what they have is blood,” Ben-Abraham said Thursday, The Post reported.[Bhatt] “There was a media frenzy and an arrest was made. The Manassas Park police chief is being forced to do something about it.”
“Blood is not a body part. Blood alone is not enough,” he continued. “I have no idea how a judge could issue an arrest warrant. [Bhatt’s] Arrest.”
Ben Abraham could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Manassas Police conducted a search on pediatric nurse practitioner Manta Bhatt, 28, after she did not show up to work at the University of Virginia Health Prince William Medical Center on August 2. Bhatt's husband did not report her missing until August 5. (Manassas Police Department)
Sami said the evidence against Butt was substantial and that further charges would likely be filed, citing the amount of blood found in the couple's home and a search history of Butt provided to local police by the US Secret Service.
Preliminary tests have concluded that the blood found in the couple's home was human, but it has not yet been linked to the missing woman.
Earlier this month, prosecutors said Bhatt had sold his Tesla, packed suitcases and talked to others about selling his home after his wife disappeared. Bhatt's lawyer said his client had no plans to flee and that he was trying to make money to support the couple's 1-year-old daughter.
Sami said Bhatt bought a knife on July 30 – the last day Mamta Bhatt's family heard from her – and also went to a Walmart in a neighboring county to buy Lysol and Febreze. When a search warrant was executed at Bhatt's home last week, an empty bottle of carpet cleaner that Bhatt had purchased on July 31 was found.
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Prosecutors said police had been called to the Butts' home before. (Manassas Police Department)
Prosecutors also cited a previous instance in which the Butt family on Heather Court had been dealt with by police for domestic violence. Manassas police were called to the home in February for “misconduct.” At the time, Mamta Butt told police her husband “didn't hand over her documents and destroyed her cell phone,” prosecutors said.
According to Inside Nova, one of the missing woman's friends told police that Mamta Bhatt was a victim of domestic violence and had “suffered bruises in the months prior to her disappearance.”
Butt was denied bail in Prince William County Juvenile and Family Court on Monday after a judge ruled he is a danger to the community and a flight risk.
The disappearance of Mamta Bhatt, a nurse at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center, has sparked multiple search efforts and captured the attention of the entire community.
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“What we heard was worse than we could have ever imagined,” her friend, Holly Worth, told The Washington Post after the hearing. “I don't think we were prepared at all for the picture they painted of what supposedly happened in the master bedroom and master bathroom.”
Worth told the Post that she and 12 other supporters in the courtroom ” [Mamta Bhatt’s] “Privacy should be respected,” she said, adding that she was glad the allegations of domestic violence had been made public.
“We've all heard, seen and received emails that we don't want to share,” Worth said, “but it's now on the record: she was abused, and going forward we won't be afraid to tell it like it is.”
