September 20 update: Judge heard arguments for nearly three hours on Friday before she ruled there was “overwhelming evidence” to consider Naresh Bhatt a flight risk and danger to the community and denied bond. The judge cited new evidence presented by the Commonwealth for her decision, which included surveillance videos capturing Naresh Bhatt disposing multiple bags from his car between July 30 and 31, at times wearing white gloves, at various dump sites and trash compactors, one being at his child’s babysitter’s apartment in Manassas.
Mamta Kafle Bhatta Missing Case Timeline:
- December 2020: Mamta married to Naresh.
- July 29, 2021: Mamta moved to US
- August 20, 2023: Mamta had her daughter.
- February 2023: Police summoned to the Bhatt residence over allegations of disorderly conduct. Mamta told officers Naresh wouldn't give her documents and destroyed her phone.
- April 2023: Naresh did a Google search on his work computer asking how long does it take to get married after spouse dies.
- July 24, 2023: Mamta spoke with her childhood friend and mentioned her trouble marriage.
- July 27, 2024 8:17 p.m.: Mamta is last seen at UVA Prince William Medical Center in Manassas, where she worked as a nurse. She entered an unknown black car after canceling an Uber ride.
- July 28, 2024: Mamta posts a final video on her TikTok account alongside her daughter.
- July 29 Evening: The date of Mamta Bhatt’s final video call with her mother, to whom she habitually spoke twice a day. Her mom said Mamta's face was gloomy which is unusual of her. She never called her mom after that.
- July 30, 4:13 a.m.: Bhatt performs a Google search for “Diagram of brain” and at 4:30 a.m., looks up “Chicken farm near me.”
- July 30, 5:40 a.m.: Naresh Bhatt sends the Bhatts’ babysitter, Amanda, a text.
- July 30, 6:30 a.m.: Bhatt drops off the couple’s daughter, Neema, at the babysitter’s apartment at Clark Place in Manassas.
- July 30, 6:40 a.m.: Bhatt is seen on camera dropping several plastic and trash bags into a dumpster at the apartment complex.
- July 30, 8:12 a.m: Bhatt goes shopping at Home Depot purchasing rubber ice gloves.
- July 30, 8:21 a.m Bhatt was seen at Walmart, buying 3 knives 2 are missing, carpet cleaner, wipes and air freshners.
- July 30, 5:22 p.m: Bhatt was seen buying extra strong trash bags at Home Depot.
- July 30 and July 31: Bhatt is seen on camera discarding bags at various dumpsters.
- July 31, 1:30 a.m.: Bhatt is captured on video in Falls Church retrieving bags from his Tesla and putting them into a trash compactor. His Tesla tracks him to that location, but his phone is inactive and not on his person at that time.
- July 31, 5:30 p.m.: Bhatt disposes of more items in the same dumpster at the babysitter’s apartment complex.
- July 31, 7 p.m.: Bhatt returns to the apartment complex to pick up Neema. The babysitter later tells police that Bhatt “was nervous and kept looking around,” Sami said.
- Between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. on July 31, over 150 gallons of water are consumed by the Bhatt residence – a far cry from the typical 3-4 gallons per hour.
- Aug. 1: Mamta did not show up for work at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center on August 1. Her work friend called police for welfare check. Naresh Bhatt’s phone is off with no activity, but Mamta Bhatt’s phone sends out a signal from Loudoun County. That day, Naresh Bhatt goes to eat at a Liberty gas station, walks back to his Tesla “with a visible limp,” , grabs some bags at his car, and walks over to a clothing donation bin – where police later find a bag with a white bath mat featuring light pink and reddish-brown staining that tests positive for blood.
- After Aug. 1: In addition to missing Neema’s first birthday on Aug. 20, Mamta Bhatt also misses her final United States Citizenship and Immigration Services appointment to become a U.S. citizen.
- Sometime after Aug. 2: Naresh Bhatt asks the downstairs tenants in the Bhatt residence to help him move the bed in his bedroom.
- Aug. 2, 2024: Police conduct a welfare check at the Bhatt residence. Naresh Bhatt tells officers they are separating, Mamta got her green card and now she is running away, destroyed her phone, she is visiting one of her sister in New York or Texas.Bhatt said he saw her last time on evening of July 31.
- Aug. 4, 2024: Naresh Bhatt sends a text message to the same police officer who conducted the welfare check on Aug. 2. The officer responds a day later, on Aug. 5, and Mamta Bhatt is officially listed as a missing person.
- Aug. 8, 2024: Manassas Park police change the status of the Mamta Bhatt case to "involuntarily missing."
- Aug. 5, 2024: Naresh Bhatt changes his story, saying Mamta had destroyed her own phone, according to prosecutors.
- Aug. 6, 2024: Naresh tells investigators that Mamta’s clothes, passport, and green card are all missing. He still claims he last saw her on July 31, according to court testimony.
- Aug. 15, 2024: Naresh tells Manassas Park that he is preparing to send Neema to Nepal, prosecutors said.
- Aug. 19, 2024: Naresh sells his blue Tesla to Carmax, prosecutors said. Police later say they have impounded the car.
- Aug. 20, 2024: Mamta Bhatt's friends and coworkers gather at the Bhatts' home to deliver presents for Neema's first birthday.
- Aug. 21, 2024: Police converge on the Bhatts' home to execute a search warrant. They remain there overnight and into the next day. At a press briefing that night, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo says Mamta Bhatt is presumed dead and names her husband a "person of interest."
- Aug. 22, 2024: Naresh Bhatt is escorted out of the home in handcuffs and baby Neema is carried out, covered in a yellow blanket, by police officers. Police charge Bhatt with concealing a dead body in his wife's death.
- Aug. 23, 2024: At an arraignment hearing in Prince William Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, prosecutors paint a grisly picture of what may have occurred inside the final days of July, describing pools of dried blood found in the home.
- Aug. 26, 2024: At a bond hearing, a judge orders Naresh Bhatt to remain jailed without bond, calling him a flight risk and danger to the community.
- Aug. 27, 2024: Police execute another search warrant at the Bhatts' home, with the police chief later saying more evidence was collected and more charges are likely forthcoming.
- Aug. 29, 2024: Mamta Bhatt's mother and brother arrive in the United States from Nepal and are reunited with baby Neema.
- Aug. 29, 2024: A judge agrees to a motion by Naresh Bhatt's defense attorney to waive his preliminary hearing, sending the felony charge of concealing a dead body directly to a grand jury.
- Aug. 30, 2024: Manassas Park police detectives and the Prince William County Police Search and Rescue Team descend on Signal Hill Park in a search for evidence in the case. Police said evidence was recovered but forensic analysis will take time.
- September 20, 2024: Judge ruled there was “overwhelming evidence” to consider Naresh Bhatt a flight risk and danger to the community and denied bond.
