Yes, Naresh Bhatt testified in court on Thursday, November 5, 2026, that he found his wife Mamta Kafle Bhatt dead and then dismembered her body. Bhatt, 39, of Manassas Park, Virginia, took the stand in his own defense on Day 17 of his murder trial and told the court that Mamta died by suicide. He said he found her unconscious in the early-morning hours of July 30, 2024, tried to revive her, and then sought to hide her body. He admitted in court that he dismembered and concealed her body. Bhatt has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless the court finds otherwise. Prosecutors had not yet cross-examined him when the testimony was reported.
Quick Facts
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Naresh Bhatt, 39, of Manassas Park, Virginia |
| Wife | Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, a nurse and mother |
| Charges | First-degree murder, concealment of a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body |
| Plea | Not guilty |
| Testimony date | Thursday, November 5, 2026, Day 17 of the trial |
| What he testified | He found Mamta dead, said she died by suicide, and admitted he dismembered and concealed her body |
| Date he said he found her | Early-morning hours of July 30, 2024 |
| Last heard from | July 29, 2024 |
| Last hospital shift | July 27, 2024 |
| Reported missing | August 5, 2024 |
| Arrested | August 22, 2024 |
| Indicted | December 2024 |
| Trial began | October 2026 |
| Body found | No, her body has never been found |
| Prosecution rested | Monday, November 2, after calling more than 70 witnesses |
What Bhatt Told the Court on Day 17
Day 17 brought the moment many people following the case had been waiting for. Naresh Bhatt took the stand in his own defense. A defendant in a criminal trial is not required to testify, and many choose not to do so. Bhatt chose to speak, and that choice put his own account at the center of the trial for the first time, after weeks in which the court had heard only from prosecution witnesses.
According to court reporting, Bhatt said he found Mamta unconscious beside her own vomit, pesticides and pills in the early-morning hours of July 30, 2024. He said he tried to revive her with CPR using a stethoscope and thermometer. He testified that she died by suicide, and that he then sought to hide her body in the Potomac River and later cut it up with a saw. He admitted in court that he dismembered and concealed her body.
The timing matters. The prosecution had already rested its case on Monday, November 2, after calling more than 70 witnesses, so the jury heard his version after hearing the full prosecution case first. Prosecutors had not yet cross-examined him when the testimony was reported, so his account had not yet been tested by questions from the other side at that point. Cross-examination is where claims made in direct testimony are checked in detail, and it will be a key part of what comes next.
The Charges and the Not Guilty Plea
Naresh Bhatt is charged with first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body in the death of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. He has pleaded not guilty. A not guilty plea means the defendant denies the charges and requires the prosecution to prove them. It does not mean the court has found him innocent, and it does not mean the charges go away. It means the trial must decide the matter on evidence.
The charges cover two different kinds of conduct. The first-degree murder charge concerns the death itself. The concealment and defilement charges concern what happened to the body after death. Bhatt admitted that he dismembered and concealed her body, which relates to the second set of charges. The murder charge remains disputed, because Bhatt says Mamta died by suicide. The jury will need to consider whether the prosecution has proved murder, and it will weigh his words against the other evidence in the case.
It is important to state this plainly. The charges are accusations. Bhatt has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent unless the prosecution proves the charges in court. His testimony is evidence the jury can consider, but it is not a verdict. Readers following this trial may also want to read our report on Russell Brand found guilty of rape and sexual assault for a separate example of how a court outcome is reported once a verdict is reached.
The Timeline Before the Trial
Mamta Kafle Bhatt was a Nepali nurse and new mother. She was 28 years old. She was last heard from on July 29, 2024, and her last hospital shift was July 27, 2024. Those two dates frame the last days in which she was known to be in contact with the outside world. After July 29, there was no further contact, and concern began to grow among the people who knew her.
Her coworkers requested a welfare check, a request for authorities to check on a person when there is concern for their safety. Bhatt did not officially report her missing until August 5, 2024, a week after she was last heard from. He was arrested on August 22, 2024, indicted in December 2024, and the trial began in October 2026. That long gap between arrest and trial is not unusual in a serious criminal case, where both sides need time to prepare, but it also means more than two years passed between the events of July 2024 and the day Bhatt finally took the stand.
The fact that her body has never been found has shaped the case from the start, and a case without a body depends heavily on other forms of evidence. For readers who want to understand how a missing-person case can turn into a wider investigation, our coverage of Jalayshia Alford found dead in Lindenwold, New Jersey covers a separate case in which a young woman was reported missing before later developments were reported.
The Evidence Heard Before Bhatt Took the Stand
Before Bhatt testified, the prosecution presented its case over many days and rested on Monday, November 2, after calling more than 70 witnesses. That is a large number, and it shows how much evidence the prosecution sought to put before the jury, including people who knew Mamta, people involved in the investigation, and experts who gave scientific evidence.
Earlier trial evidence reported in court included testimony from a forensic scientist who said that blood on a carpet was beyond likely to be Mamta’s. Court reporting also described hair-like strands found on an electric saw that matched her DNA profile, which connects the saw to Mamta through DNA testing. A DNA scientist also testified that Mamta’s young daughter could not be eliminated as a contributor to a carpet stain. That is careful scientific language. It does not say the daughter was a contributor. It says the testing could not rule her out, and in a home where a young child lived, such a finding needs to be understood in context as one piece of evidence among many.
Taken together, the earlier evidence and Bhatt’s testimony present the jury with two tasks. First, it must weigh the forensic evidence and the witness testimony from the prosecution case. Second, it must weigh Bhatt’s own account, including his claim of suicide and his admission that he dismembered and concealed the body. The cross-examination that had not yet taken place when the testimony was reported will test his account in detail.
What Happens Next in the Trial
The next step, as reported, is the cross-examination of Bhatt by prosecutors. After the defense case is complete, the trial will move toward closing arguments and then to the jury for a verdict. The jury will need to decide each charge on the evidence presented. The murder charge will turn on whether the prosecution has proved that Bhatt caused Mamta’s death, while the concealment and defilement charges will turn on what happened to her body. Bhatt’s admission about dismemberment and concealment is already on the record, but the jury must still consider it in the context of the full trial.
Public interest in the case is likely to remain high. Mamta was a young nurse and a new mother, and her disappearance and the trial that followed have drawn attention well beyond Manassas Park. The fair way to follow the trial is to report each step as it happens, to note what is claimed and what is proved, and to wait for the verdict, without speculation about guilt. Readers who follow celebrity and public-figure legal stories may also be interested in our report on Paris Jackson demands 600 million from Michael Jackson estate, a separate legal matter involving a well-known family.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Naresh Bhatt testify on November 5, 2026?
On Thursday, November 5, 2026, Day 17 of the trial, Bhatt testified that he found his wife Mamta unconscious beside her own vomit, pesticides and pills in the early-morning hours of July 30, 2024. He said he tried to revive her with CPR using a stethoscope and thermometer, testified that she died by suicide, and admitted that he then sought to hide her body in the Potomac River and later cut it up with a saw.
What charges does Naresh Bhatt face?
Bhatt is charged with first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body in the death of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt. He has pleaded not guilty. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless the prosecution proves them in court.
Has Mamta Kafle Bhatt body ever been found?
No, her body has never been found. Mamta, a Nepali nurse and new mother, was last heard from on July 29, 2024. Her last hospital shift was July 27, 2024. Bhatt did not officially report her missing until August 5, 2024, and he was arrested on August 22, 2024.
What evidence was heard before Bhatt testified?
The prosecution rested on Monday, November 2, after calling more than 70 witnesses. Earlier evidence reported in court included a forensic scientist testifying that blood on a carpet was beyond likely to be Mamta’s, hair-like strands found on an electric saw matching her DNA profile, and a DNA scientist testifying that Mamta’s young daughter could not be eliminated as a contributor to a carpet stain.
Sources
Final Thoughts
Naresh Bhatt taking the stand on Day 17 changed the shape of this trial. For the first time, the jury heard his own account: that he found Mamta dead in the early-morning hours of July 30, 2024, that she died by suicide, and that he then dismembered and concealed her body. That admission is now on the record, and it will be weighed alongside the forensic evidence and the testimony of more than 70 prosecution witnesses. The charges remain accusations, Bhatt has pleaded not guilty, and he is presumed innocent. What comes next is cross-examination, and then the jury will decide what the evidence proves.
