Prosecutors ordered to hand over evidence to defense in missing Manassas Park mom case

MANASSAS PARK, Va. — The husband of a Manassas Park woman who has been missing for more than a month was back in court Friday morning for what's known as a Brady hearing. Naresh Bhatt, the husband of 28-year-old Mamta Kafle Bhatt, is charged with one felony count of concealing a body in connection to his wife's disappearance in late July. 

The Brady Rule is a legal motion that forces prosecutors to hand over all evidence they have in a case to the defense. 

"Brady material, or the evidence the prosecutor is required to disclose under this rule, includes any information favorable to the accused which may reduce a defendant's potential sentence, go against the credibility of an unfavorable witness, or otherwise allow a jury to infer against the defendant’s guilt," according to the Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute. 

On Friday, a Prince William County judge ordered prosecutors to hand over some evidence they have collected; the hearing and motion was requested by Naresh Bhatt's public defender. Specifically, the lawyers requested the couple's cellphone data, the GPS record on Naresh Bhatt's car, police reports from his first two interactions with Manassas Park Police following the disappearance of his wife, and surveillance video from July 27 in which Mamta Kafle Bhatt was seen talking to a colleague outside the UVA Health Prince William Medical Center. 

Court documents say that Mamta Kafle Bhatt cancelled an uber ride and got in a dark colored sedan. The defense says, they want to know who picked her up that night, because perhaps that person or persons have information about Mamta Kafle Bhatt's plans to leave. Naresh Bhatt's defense team has continually argued that the Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is missing primary evidence: Mamta Kafle Bhatt's body. 

The judge ordered prosecutors to turn over the July 27 video and any conversations that Naresh Bhatt had with Manassas Park Police. 

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 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."

The defense team also took aim at Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo criticizing him for providing the community with updates about the searches his officers are conducting.

"We've done several searches, not only here in Manassas Park, Manassas, Prince William County," Chief Lugo told WUSA9 Wednesday. "We've done them in Loudoun County and Fairfax County." 

Naresh Bhatt has been held without bond since his arrest. His public defender waived the right to a grand jury last week in an effort to get the case before a jury sooner. Naresh Bhatt is due back in court Monday morning, when a trial date could be set sometime between December and February. 

Prosecutors have not presented evidence to charge Naresh Bhatt with murder, and he has not confessed to killing of his wife.