It’s been almost a month since a Manassas Park, Virginia, mother went missing.
Mamta Kafle Bhatt, an immigrant from Nepal who worked as a nurse, was last seen on July 31.
While many still hold out hope that Kafle Bhatt, 28, is alive, her body still hasn’t been found. WTOP spoke with the city’s chief of police on the latest in the investigation and on the search for Kafle Bhatt.
“We need to find where Mamta is right now, and that’s been our focus from the beginning, and we’re going to continue to do that,” said Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo. “It presents a lot of challenges, but we’re definitely trying to find her.”
Lugo said investigators have searched several locations and are following new leads.
“I (would) like to give some hope, but I don’t believe she’s alive at this point,” he told WTOP.
Kafle Bhatt’s husband, 37-year-old Naresh Bhatt, was arrested last week, following a flurry of police activity at the couple’s Heather Court home. Bhatt is facing a federal charge of concealing a body and is being held without bond after being found a danger to the community.
On Tuesday, law enforcement served another search warrant — one of about 10 so far — at the couple’s home. Detectives were seen carrying crates out of the five-bedroom house as a small crowd gathered outside.
In recent days, grisly details emerged in court: Prosecutors said dried-up blood was found in the couple’s bedroom and bathroom; Naresh Bhatt had purchased knives and cleaning supplies from a Walmart in neighboring Loudoun County around the time of his wife’s disappearance; he sold his blue Tesla and attempted to sell their house; and he made Google searches related to the death of a spouse.
Lugo said investigators have located Naresh Bhatt’s Tesla and searched it.
“I can’t disclose what was located in the Tesla. With these cars, there’s a lot of computer features on it, so we’re waiting on some records to come back from that,” he said.
Lugo said the Manassas Park Police Department is working with neighboring jurisdictions and federal partners on the investigation.
Friends, co-workers and the local Nepalese community have rallied in the aftermath of Kafle Bhatt’s disappearance to find her, bring her killer to justice and take care of the couple’s daughter, who turned one year old this month.
“In the beginning, we were looking for somebody that was missing. Now we know that that’s not the case, that something happened to her, and that we will continue to look for her and bring justice and hold those that are accountable,” Lugo said.
“And I want the community to know that, although in the beginning they felt like we weren’t sharing or not providing information they were requesting, but with these investigations, we’ve got to verify the information we’re receiving, and it takes time,” he added.
During a bond hearing on Monday, Naresh Bhatt’s defense attorney argued the evidence doesn’t show he committed a murder.
“We don’t have a murder or assault. We don’t know that she’s passed away. They think she’s missing, and we have a media frenzy,” said Shalev Ben-Avraham, senior assistant public defender for the county.
On Thursday, the judge in the case agreed to a motion by Naresh Bhatt’s attorney to waive his preliminary hearing, sending the felony charge of concealing a dead body directly to a grand jury.
InsideNoVa contributed to this report.
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