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A judge on Thursday agreed 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.
During a hearing in Prince William Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Manassas, Judge Katherine C. McCollam addressed the 37-year-old Bhatt, who is jailed in the disappearance of his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt.
At one point, McCollam insisted Naresh Bhatt – listening through an interpreter – provide a verbal response to confirm his understanding after she outlined the circumstances of his waiving his right to the preliminary hearing, in which the judge decides if there is enough probable cause to send the case to a grand jury.
Bhatt replied in the affirmative, and McCollam accepted the waiver.
The case is scheduled to go before the Prince William grand jury on Oct. 7, with “term” day following on Oct. 8, according to court records. Term day is when prosecutors and defense will agree in a hearing on a trial date, the circuit court clerk’s office said.
Bhatt’s lawyer, Senior Assistant Public Defender Shalev Ben-Avraham, has said he wants the trial date expedited.
“Mr. Bhatt’s defense attorney has said on the record that he feels like the evidence is fairly weak, so we know the faster they can bring that to trial, the more likelihood the commonwealth won’t be able to strengthen their case is their assertation,” Holly Wirth, a former coworker of Mamta Bhatt at Inova Health System, said at a news conference after the hearing.
Wirth continued, “I think understandable that they want to get him tried on this charge as soon as possible – and I know in my heart there’s going to be more charges to come. So we can’t consider this a setback, we have to consider this just a step until the more serious charges are levied.”
Naresh Bhatt remains held without bond.
Thursday’s court hearing was the latest activity in what’s been a tumultuous and deflating week for community members hoping to find Mamta Kafle Bhatt alive.
On Tuesday, law enforcement served another search warrant – one of about 10 so far – at the couple’s home in Blooms Crossing. Detectives were seen carrying crates out of the five-bedroom house as a small crowd gathered outside.
Naresh Bhatt was arrested one week ago following a flurry of police activity at the couple’s Heather Court home.
In the days ahead, grisly details emerged in court: Prosecutors said dried-up-blood was found in the couple’s bedroom and bathroom; Naresh Bhatt purchased knives and cleaning supplies from a Walmart in neighboring Loudoun County around the time of her disappearance; he sold his blue Tesla and attempted to sell his house; and the husband had entered Google searches related to the death of a spouse.
During a bond hearing on Monday, prosecutors read the Google searches: “how long does take to get married after spouse dies” and “what happen in the event of dying spouse.”
Prabha Bhattarai Deuja, former president of the America Nepal Society, relayed a memory from one of Mamta’s friends during Thursday’s news conference.
“Her friend also mentioned one thing was – she always brings everybody up front rather than herself,” Deuja said. “No matter how painful she is in a situation, she asked me, ‘How are you doing?’ instead of saying, ‘I’m in pain.’ And that was the message I got from her friend.”
Wirth also commented on the stateside arrival of Mamta Bhatt’s mother and brother, which was announced yesterday, asking for privacy as the family mourns its loss. The family members were reunited with Mamta’s 1-year-old daughter, Neema.
“I’d like to give credit for the community members, for the legislators, for our community politicians who really worked with the embassy and the government to get them here,” Wirth said. “That is a success – they were able to expedite their safe travels here.”
