Virginia jury convicts Naresh Bhatt of murdering Nepali nurse Mamta Kafle Bhatt
A Prince William County jury found Bhatt guilty of first-degree murder and of concealing and defiling his wife’s body, although her remains have never been found. Sentencing is set for 12 March 2027.
In this article
A jury in Prince William County, Virginia, on 10 November 2026 (24 Kartik 2083 BS) found Naresh Bhatt, 39, guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old Nepali nurse who disappeared from the couple’s home in Manassas Park in July 2024. He was also convicted of concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body, according to WTOP, NBC Washington, FOX 5 DC and The Kathmandu Post.
Sentencing is scheduled for 12 March 2027. As reported by NBC Washington and The Kathmandu Post, first-degree murder in Virginia carries 20 years to life in prison, and each of the two body-related offences carries up to five years. Ratopati reported that Bhatt’s lawyers said they could not comment until the proceedings were complete.
Background
Kafle, who was born in Nepal and moved to Northern Virginia in 2021, worked as a nurse at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, The Kathmandu Post reported. She failed to turn up for a shift on 1 August 2024; Bhatt filed a missing-person report only on 5 August, according to FOX 5. Her body has never been recovered. Prosecutors alleged that Bhatt killed her on or about 30 July 2024.
Bhatt was arrested on 22 August 2024 on a single count of concealing a dead body. On 2 December 2024 a grand jury indicted him for first-degree murder and defiling a dead body. He pleaded not guilty to all three counts. Jury selection before Circuit Judge Kimberly Irving began on 5 October 2026.
The evidence and the defence
Over roughly six weeks of testimony the prosecution relied on circumstantial and forensic evidence. According to The Kathmandu Post and FOX 5, this included blood stains and hair on a power saw whose DNA matched a profile built from Kafle’s hairbrush, the purchase of 40 trash bags on 30 July 2024, video of Bhatt at waste-disposal sites, and internet searches in March 2024 such as “what happens if a spouse disappears”. The defence argued that no one could confirm the hairbrush was hers.
In testimony late in the trial, Bhatt said he had found his wife dead in their bedroom, apparently after taking poison, and that fearing blame he panicked, dismembered her body and disposed of it in trash bags. He denied killing her and admitted lying to police. A psychologist called by the defence testified that he met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Sarah Sami told jurors that Bhatt had murdered, dismembered and discarded Kafle. Defence lawyer Tracey Lenox argued that the prosecution had not proved murder beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury rejected the suicide account.
A murder conviction without a body
With no remains, there was no medical evidence of the cause of death, so jurors had to weigh the circumstantial and forensic evidence against the credibility of the accused’s own account. After the verdict, Amy Ashworth, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, said in a statement that the case was a reminder that “the absence of a victim’s body does not mean the absence of justice”.
Kafle’s mother, Gita Kafle, and brother, Mahesh Kafle, testified through an interpreter. The Kathmandu Post reported that Mahesh told the court his sister had sent him a photograph showing an apparent facial injury and said she felt unsafe. The defence disputed the prosecution’s claims of abuse.
What happens next
The verdict settles guilt; the sentence will be fixed at the hearing on 12 March 2027. The defence has not said publicly whether it will appeal.
Sources
The court’s verdict documents were not publicly available; this report relies on US and Nepali media. Outlets named different prosecutors, so only the name confirmed by two sources is used. The couple’s young daughter is not identified.
Other reporting
- Jury finds Manassas Park man Naresh Bhatt guilty of murdering, dismembering wife — WTOP, 10 Nov 2026
- Naresh Bhatt found guilty of first-degree murder in killing of wife, Mamta Kafle — NBC Washington, 10 Nov 2026
- Naresh Bhatt set for March 2027 sentencing hearing — FOX 5 DC, 10 Nov 2026
- US jury finds Naresh Bhatt guilty of murdering wife Mamta Kafle — The Kathmandu Post, 11 Nov 2026
- What to know about the US trial over Mamta Kafle’s disappearance — The Kathmandu Post, 18 Oct 2026
- Explained: after Bhatt’s testimony, the trial turns on how she died — The Kathmandu Post, 6 Nov 2026
- Naresh Bhatt found guilty in Mamta Kafle murder case (in Nepali) — Onlinekhabar, 11 Nov 2026
- “The truth came out, Mamata got justice” (in Nepali) — Ratopati, 11 Nov 2026
- Naresh Bhatt’s statement: admits hiding the body (in Nepali) — Kantipur, 6 Nov 2026
