Husband of Mamta Kafle Bhatt back in court to set trial date

MANASSAS PARK, Va. — The husband of missing Manassas Park mom Mamta Kafle Bhatt is back in a Prince William County courtroom Monday. We are expecting to learn when he will stand trial.

Naresh Bhatt has been held without bond since his arrest on Aug. 22. His public defender waived the right to a grand jury earlier this month in an effort to get the case before a jury sooner. A trial date could be set for sometime between December and February. 

Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, has not been seen since late July and Manassas Park Police say she is presumed dead. 

Court documents indicate that Naresh Bhatt killed his wife, but he has only been charged with a single count of concealing a dead body. The defense argues that the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is missing the key evidence in their case — Mamta's body. 

Prince William County judge has ordered the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office to hand over some of the evidence to the defense attorneys representing Naresh Bhatt, the Manassas Park man accused of concealing his wife's dead body. 

The public defender representing Naresh Bhatt said Friday that the evidence requested could be used to prove the 37-year-old father's innocence in the case of his missing wife.

On Friday, the public defender argued that Mamta Kafle Bhatt is still alive and that he wanted his investigators to speak to Mamta's coworker and the driver who picked her up to determine if they had insight into why she left.

Supporters of Mamta Kafle Bhatt and those who have been searching for her diligently said they were upset by the defense lawyer's argument that she purposefully left her husband and 1-year-old child and is still alive. 

"No mother would leave the child behind on their first birthday," said Prabha Deuja, who has been part of multiple search parties looking for Mamta Kafle Bhatt. "There was no phone call came in. That's what we were waiting for. That didn't happen." 

Naresh Bhatt told police and WUSA9 that the last time he saw Mamta Kafle Bhatt was in their Manassas Park home on July 31.

Manassas Park Police say the conducted a welfare check at the Bhatt home on Aug. 2 after Mamta never showed up to work on Aug. 1. 

Naresh Bhatt told WUSA9 in an Aug. 14 interview that a Manassas Park Police officer told him to search for his wife and to give the department a call when he got tired of looking. He also alleges that his wife had left their home for extended periods of time three times in the past. 

Friends and colleagues admit that Mamta had spent times away from home, but it was a result of domestic violence inside the home.  During court proceedings, prosecutors discussed troubling issues in the home in February. 

The judge did deny the defense access to other evidence including cell data obtained from the couple's phones, as well as GPS records obtained from Naresh Bhatt's car.  The judge also said prosecutors were not obligated to hand over all police reports connected to the case.