Kathmandu, Nov, 11: A jury in the US state of Virginia has found Naresh Bhatt guilty of murdering his wife, Mamta Kafle, a Nepali-origin woman who went missing in July 2024.
The jury on Tuesday convicted Bhatt of first-degree murder, as well as concealing and defiling her body, following nearly six weeks of court proceedings.
During his testimony last week, Bhatt admitted to dismembering Mamta’s body with a saw and disposing of it in garbage bins. However, he denied murdering her, claiming that he found her dead when he returned home and suggesting that she may have died by suicide.
Prosecutors rejected his account as fabricated. During closing arguments, Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Sarah Sami told the jury that Bhatt had killed Mamta, dismembered her body and disposed of the remains at a waste management facility in the Luray area of Virginia.
Mamta went missing from her home in Manassas Park, Virginia, in July 2024. Her body has not yet been recovered.
Prosecutors also presented surveillance footage showing Bhatt wearing gloves and disposing of bags at various waste disposal locations. Bhatt claimed the bags contained Mamta’s personal belongings rather than her remains.
Following her disappearance, Bhatt had told investigators that Mamta had left home and might have travelled to New York or Texas. He later admitted in court that he had lied about her whereabouts.
During cross-examination, prosecutor Matthew Sweet confronted Bhatt over his earlier statements, and Bhatt acknowledged that he had lied.
Bhatt faces a prison sentence ranging from 20 years to life for first-degree murder. The charges of concealing and defiling a body each carry an additional maximum sentence of five years. He is scheduled to be sentenced next March.
Mamta’s friends and members of the Nepali community gathered outside the courthouse following the verdict and welcomed the decision, describing it as justice after 832 days.
However, Bhatt’s defense attorney, Tracy Lennox, had argued that the prosecution’s case contained reasonable doubt and urged the jury to acquit him.
