Husband of missing mom is accused of killing her in their home then dragging her body outside, court documents show

Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

(CNN) — The hubby of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old Virginia mother who has been missing for complete 3 weeks, is accused of sidesplitting her wrong their location and dragging her assemblage outside, tribunal documents obtained by CNN connection WJLA show.

Naresh Bhatt faces a felony complaint of prohibition against concealment of a body, according to tribunal records, and he was taken distant successful handcuffs Thursday aft authorities conducted a hunt warrant connected nan couple’s home. Bhatt was successful tribunal Friday greeting for an arraignment.

He has not been formally charged pinch murder, but nan preliminary criminal title obtained by WJLA states that, “on aliases astir July 30, 2024, nan accused, Naresh Bhatt, murdered his wife, Mamta Bhatt.”

CNN has reached retired to nan nationalist defender’s office, which is representing Naresh Bhatt.

“There was grounds successful nan residence indicating nan assemblage was wrong nan residence and dragged retired of nan residence,” a handwritten summation to nan connection says, signed pinch what appeared to beryllium nan charging rule enforcement officer’s initials.

“During nan people of this investigation, a important magnitude of integer and forensic grounds accordant pinch her decease was recovered,” nan title says.

CNN has reached retired to nan prosecutor’s agency for remark connected whether Bhatt faces upgraded charges to bespeak nan execution allegation made by nan officer.

During Friday’s arraignment, nan judge didn’t alteration nan position of his bail and Bhatt will proceed to beryllium held without it, according to WJLA. Bhatt is scheduled to look successful tribunal for a enslaved proceeding Monday morning, online tribunal records show.

Kafle Bhatt was past seen connected July 27 astatine UVA Health Prince William Medical Center successful Manassas, according to police. She worked location arsenic a registered caregiver successful nan aesculapian surgical unit, nan halfway told CNN Friday. On July 28, she said pinch a friend, and connected July 31 she was past seen by her hubby astatine nan meal table, he antecedently told police.

On August 2, constabulary conducted a use cheque astatine nan couple’s location and said to her husband, who “provided further information” and told investigators he didn’t want to study her arsenic missing astatine nan time, constabulary said. Three days later, he reported her missing, authorities said successful a news merchandise connected August 15.

The use cheque petition came from Kafle Bhatt’s activity colleagues, CNN connection WUSA reported.

Detectives conducted an exhaustive investigation from August 5-8, they said, and recovered location was important deficiency of caller interaction betwixt Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer and connected societal media, truthful they elevated her missing position to involuntary/critical missing personification status.

Investigators executed 10 hunt warrants and conducted “hundreds of interviews related to to this case,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said Wednesday evening arsenic a hunt warrant connected nan Bhatt residence was underway.

When asked Wednesday if location was a “person of interest” successful Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance, Lugo said her hubby has “been a constituent of liking and everybody knows that,” adding that he has not been cooperative pinch police, a departure from nan department’s first merchandise connected August 15, wherever they said “the husband, friends and co-workers person each been cooperative passim nan investigation and detectives will proceed to travel up connected each investigative leads to find Mamta Kafle.”

In an question and reply pinch WUSA past week, Bhatt said he was worried astir wherever his woman whitethorn beryllium and that this wasn’t nan first clip she had gone missing.

“I’m nan 1 who is suffering,” he told WUSA. “She is my baby’s mom. She is my wife. I’m nan 1 suffering, truthful I don’t cognize what I’m expected to say.”

The couple’s babe was taken from nan location nether a yellowish blanket, video from Thursday shows, and constabulary opportunity she’s being looked aft by a caregiver approved by nan Department of Social Services.

Kafle Bhatt’s family, who unrecorded successful Nepal, obtained a visa and are successful nan process of nan walking to nan US to effort and get emergency custody of her granddaughter, Bandita Sharma Dhal, an migration lawyer moving pinch nan family, told CNN Friday.