Prosecutors Raise Bloody Saw, Bathroom As Manassas Park Man's Murder Trial Begins

MANASSAS PARK, VA – Prosecutors previewed forensic evidence, witnesses took the stand and the defense argued that ultimately, the case against Naresh Bhatt will be a “truly gruesome” story that will leave too many unanswered questions to convict the Manassas Park man accused of killing his wife and dismembering and disposing of her body.

Lawyers made their opening statements and the case’s first witnesses spoke as the trial commenced on Wednesday after two days of jury selection.

Naresh Bhatt, 39, is accused of murdering his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, in July 2024. Mamta Bhatt's body has never been found.

Naresh Bhatt was arrested in August and initially charged with concealing a dead body. Months later, murder charges were brought against him as well.

Prosecutors Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew Sweet previewed the state’s forensic and circumstantial evidence in the case, which he said includes blood evidence in the Bhatt’s home, bloody drag marks from one of the home’s bedrooms to a bathroom, blood on bedroom blinds and multiple trips by Bhatt to buy cleaning supplies, trash bags and new knives.

He said the state would highlight inconsistent statements by Bhatt to investigators and the media when asked about his wife’s whereabouts, and that Bhatt attempted to sell his house while his wife was still considered a missing person.

Sweet also revealed that prosecutors intend to call as a witness a landscaper who says he was working on a neighbor’s house when Naresh Bhatt called him over and asked him to do some work on his own property. Instead of cash payment, Bhatt offered to give the landscaper his reciprocating saw, which was worth more than the work estimate.

The landscaper took the deal, brought the saw home, and weeks later learned that Bhatt’s wife had been murdered and brought the saw to police, Sweet said. “You will see with your own eyes, Mamta’s blood in that saw. Not on the blade, in the body of the saw.”

Chief Public Defender Tracey Lenox told jurors they would hear a lot of evidence in the case, including some happy and many sad stories about the couple. She urged jurors to consider how trauma, chronological distance and bias could affect witnesses' testimony, and said, ultimately, though the state would present a lot of tragic details, jurors would be left with too much doubt about her client to convict.

In September, Bhatt attempted to fire Lenox after she failed to secure another delay. Lenox took over the case in January 2026 when Senior Assistant Public Defender Shalev Ben-Avraham left for private practice. Lenox argued that she needed more time to come to grips with the volume of evidence in the case. Judge Kimberly Irving denied the request and also denied Bhatt's request to fire his attorneys because, as he said, they did not believe him and were prejudiced against him.

The first witnesses in the case were Jessica Harasek, a nurse manager at UVA Prince William Medical Center, where Mamta Kafle Bhatt worked, and Sgt. Brandon Johnson of the Manassas Park Police Department, who performed a wellness check at the Bhatt house.

Harasek said she requested a wellness check on Mamta Bhatt after Bhatt didn’t show up for two shifts at work.

WUSA 9 presented body camera footage from Johnson and another officer’s first interaction with Bhatt, where he immediately told officers his wife had gone to “New York or Texas” and “destroyed her phone.” He also told officers that the couple planned to separate and that they were already planning to sell their home.

On the stand, Johnson described Bhatt’s behavior on the doorstep as oversharing, according to a report by the Prince William Times.