Spousal associate of vanished Virginia mother faces accusations of slaying her within their domestic abode, subsequently relocating her corpse outside, allegations depicted in legal records.
Naresh Bhatt encountered a charge of concealing a deceased body, as per court documents, leading to his arrest in handcuffs on Thursday, following a search warrant executed at the shared residence. Bhatt was scheduled for an arraignment in court on Friday morning.
Although he hasn't been formally indicted for murder, the preliminary criminal complaint acquired by WJLA indicates that, "approximately on July 30, 2024, the suspect, Naresh Bhatt, allegedly murdered his wife, Mamta Bhatt."
A handwritten addition to the statement mentions, "with what seemed like the charging law enforcement officer's initials," the presence of evidence indicating the body was kept within the residence and later removed.
The complaint further explains, "during the investigation, a considerable amount of digital and forensic evidence compatible with her demise was retrieved."
CNN has made an inquiry with the prosecutor's office regarding the possibility of Bhatt being charged with a more serious offense in light of the murder allegations made by the officer.
Kafle Bhatt was last seen at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas on July 27, as per police reports. The following day, she communicated with a friend, and on July 31, she was last seen by her husband at the dinner table, according to previous statements made to police.
On August 2, a welfare check was carried out at the couple's residence, and the husband "offered additional information" and shared this information with investigators, stating he didn't wish to report her missing at that time, as per police. Three days later, he filed a missing persons report, authorities confirmed in a press release on August 15.
The welfare check request originated from Kafle Bhatt's work colleagues, as reported by CNN affiliate WUSA.
Detectives conducted an extensive investigation from August 5-8 and determined that there was a noticeable absence of recent communication between Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer, and on social media, leading them to upgrade her missing status to involuntary/critical missing person status.
Despite the missing persons report filed by Naresh Bhatt on August 5, he had initially chosen not to report his wife Kafle Bhatt missing during the welfare check on August 2, choosing instead to share this information with investigators.
The search warrant, executed at the shared residence of Naresh and Kafle Bhatt, led to the discovery of evidence that could potentially implicate Naresh in complicity in his wife's disappearance, placing us under suspicion.
