Her body was cut up... but I didn't kill her: Shocking confession shakes America
A Virginia jury convicted Nareesh Bhat of murdering his wife Mamta Kauli Bhat, despite his denial and dismemberment of her body
Translated by Qiyas from القبس — Original source
The disappearance of Nepali nurse Mamta Kafle Bhat remained a perplexing mystery in Virginia, United States, for more than two years. The 28-year-old woman vanished, leaving behind her infant daughter. Her husband, Narish Bhat, stated he did not know where she had gone and suggested she might have traveled to other states. However, the case took a different turn when the husband stood before the jury, beginning to reveal details about what he claimed were the final days of his wife’s life. His account was shocking yet contained a fundamental contradiction: he admitted to acts he had not previously disclosed, while maintaining that he did not kill her.
Mamta had been living with her husband and their young daughter in Manassas Park, Virginia. After she failed to report to work on August 1, 2024, her colleagues asked the police to check on her. Bhat initially told officers he did not believe his wife was missing, claiming he had seen her days earlier. He did not file an official missing person report until August 5, and later suggested she may have left for New York or Texas. He was arrested later that month, launching a case that would span more than two years.
During the trial, Bhat testified that he found his wife unconscious in their bedroom on the morning of July 30, 2024, with medications and insecticide nearby. He claimed she had ingested toxic substances to end her life. He added that he attempted to revive her for 45 minutes to an hour but was unsuccessful. When asked why he did not call for an ambulance or the police, he said he was frightened and panicked, fearing he would be held responsible for pushing her to suicide.
Bhat admitted to moving her body to the bathroom, where he used a power saw and a knife to dismember it. He then placed the remains in bags and disposed of them in trash containers. However, he denied that the bags shown in surveillance footage being discarded contained his wife’s remains, asserting they held her personal belongings.
Prosecutors relied on a power saw purchased by Bhat before his wife’s disappearance, which he later gave to a landscaping worker. The worker handed the saw over to the police, and a forensic evidence expert testified that blood found inside it was highly likely to belong to Mamta. Prosecutors also presented a piece of the bedroom carpet stained with blood; an expert stated that testing of most samples strongly suggested they belonged to the wife. Additional evidence included phone records and internet search history, which included queries about the consequences of a wife’s disappearance and the possibility of divorce if she were lost.
Conversely, the defense maintained that this evidence did not prove murder. On November 10, a jury convicted Bhat of first-degree murder, along with charges of concealing a corpse and desecrating a human remains, following a trial that lasted approximately six weeks. The jury rejected his claim that his wife committed suicide, concluding he was responsible for her death despite the body never being found. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 12, 2027, for sentencing.
Mamta’s family still does not know the location of her remains and has nothing with which to lay their daughter to rest.
