Naresh Bhatt's Shocking Testimony

It was a gruesome discovery off a dirt road in Georgia. Hunters had found a body. Was it immediately clear to you that this woman had been murdered? Yes. But who was this mystery woman in the woods? That looks like Mindy. I'm Erin Moriarty, and from 48 Hours, this is The Woman in the Woods. I have never wanted to be wrong like this in my whole entire life. Binge the full series of Woman in the Woods wherever you get your podcasts. The following episode includes discussion of domestic abuse, suicide, and references to sexual assault. Viewer discretion is advised, and we'll have resources for you at the end of the episode. And if you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Just call or text 988. Hi, I'm CBS News correspondent Chanel Call for 48 Hours Case by Case. We have some news in the November. We have a murder trial that dropped after 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales and I recorded this episode on Wednesday, November 4th. So in a stunning development on Thursday, November 5th, Naresh Bhat testified that he found his wife Mamta dead from presumed suicide and tried to dispose of her body. He said he saw vomit around her body that contained pills and also said that there was a packet of insecticide nearby. Afterwards, he said that he tried to dismember and dispose of her body. Well, that's not all. He said that he tried to dismember and dispose of her body. When asked on the stand about why he didn't phone 911 that day, he said something took over him and that he was really panicked. Stay tuned on the Case by Case feed for our continued coverage. And here's this week's episode on the Bhat murder trial. My attention was drawn to three searches that were, one of which was from March 21st of 2024. Those searches were what happened if spouse disappeared, what happened if spouse disappears in divorce in Virginia and need-divorce spouse died in Virginia. There were numerous other searches as well. Were there any searches talking about donations? Can I donate my baby to my friend? That was master digital forensics investigator Catherine Zamas testifying in the murder trial of Mamta Kafle Bhat. Mamta's husband, Naresh Bhat, was charged with murdering her in Manassas Park, Virginia after she appeared to have gone missing. In August of 2024. We are now on week five of this trial. It is expected to take up to seven weeks. Prosecution rested its case on Monday, November 2nd, after supporting their argument through forensic evidence at the Bhat home, testimonies from those close to the Bhat family, and Naresh's Google search history around the time of Mamta's disappearance. On Wednesday, November 4th, the defense began making its case. And we have a major development. The first witness they called to the stand was actually Naresh Bhat himself. As a reminder, he faces charges of first-degree murder, concealing a dead body, and physically defiling a dead body. Mamta's body has still not been found. I'm 48 Hours correspondent Natalie Morales, and this is Case by Case. For our previous coverage on the Bhat trial, you can go back to the 48 Hours YouTube channel or check the Case by Case feed. I'm Natalie Morales, and this is Case by Case. Wherever you get your podcasts. Well, joining me today to recap the last few weeks of the trial is CBS News correspondent Chanel Call. Thank you for being here, Chanel. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. It's such a fascinating case. Yes, it is a fascinating case, and it certainly has captured a lot of attention, especially in the Washington, D.C. area, but nationally as well. And so here it is on Wednesday, November 4th, that Naresh Bhat took the stand in his own murder trial. Now, this is a very big deal because for a while, it was unclear whether or not we would be hearing from Naresh. So we're going to play a clip here of the defense questioning him about his experiences growing up during the Nepali Civil War. Did they, are you saying that you yourself experienced violence? That is correct. And can you describe, like, what did they do? Those hard words make you carry a lot of hard words. So they physically, sexually, mentally, they abused very badly. And how long did that go on? More than two, three weeks. How old were you at this time? 13, 14, something. Does that trauma stay with you today? Not right now, right here, but if I talk about it, it makes me feel worse sometimes. You know, when I see the wound, when I had a fight over there. Do you have nightmares? A lot. So, Chanel, I mean, I think this is the first time we've covered a defendant testifying on his own behalf here on Case by Case. What did you notice there about his testimony? Yeah, I mean, I think that the most significant part here that we heard was that the victim, Mumtha Bhat, was actually not brought up in the first full hour of questioning from the defense. The defense's side. The defense instead chose to start their argument by discussing, you know, his childhood, his upbringing. You heard they're specifically talking about the experiences growing up during the Nepali Civil War. Perhaps trying to humanize him a little bit, give a little bit more of that character, you know, what was maybe going on, you know, in his life prior to coming here to the United States. But yes, making him the focus of the first part of the testimony. I mean, it felt like a very intentional move on the defense's part. And obviously what Naresh said about those experiences in Nepal, I mean, they're truly harrowing. So it does sound like he experienced abuse as well as a child that I could see impacting him well into adulthood. But I couldn't help thinking, how does this tie back to Mumtha? And is it a good way to start off the defense here? I mean, obviously it is a thoughtful strategy, I would think, on the part of the defense. But I think your question is something probably a lot of jurors are going to be thinking about as well as they continue to listen. You know, they did eventually discuss Naresh and Mumtha's marriage. And then later in the testimony, Natalie, we actually heard Naresh was engaged when they met, when he first met Mumtha. And he had said that his previous relationship was coming to an end. When they met, they eventually became friends on Facebook. Well, he also spoke to those early days in his engagement with Mumtha. Let's play some of that here. Did Mumtha get along with your family? Very well. Did she get along with your parents? Very well. You eventually had a wedding, right? Not at that point. But eventually you did. Yeah, after first time cancel, next time, yes. So Naresh went on there to explain the wedding was postponed due to a death in the family. Yeah, Natalie, we should note also that at the time of this recording, the prosecution hadn't yet cross-examined Naresh. So there may be more details that we'll learn once that happens. So this is a no-body case for those who've been paying attention. This means prosecutors are going to be relying on what is largely circumstantial evidence to lay out their argument. What can you tell us about some of the digital evidence specifically presented in court over these last few weeks? Yeah, so prosecutors put together sort of a timeline based on Mumtha and Naresh's phone activities. The last time Mumtha was seen by her co-workers was back on July 27, 2024. She also. She also, as we learned, made these daily calls to her mother, sometimes a couple of times every day. And that all stopped abruptly after the last call happened on the 29th. So prosecutors say that they believe that she died sometime overnight, perhaps into July 30, 2024. And around that time, Naresh had actually made some very fascinating and curious Google searches that that master digital forensics investigator that you talked about earlier actually read in court. Right. The searches themselves, I mean, they were jarring to hear, considering the allegations against Naresh. I mean, some were even conflicting. And, for example, on July 30th, he searched human brain diagram. But then on August 5th, he searched missing person finding rate in Virginia. Now, we should note on August 5th, that was the day that Naresh filed a missing persons report for Mumtha. Her co-workers at the UVA hospital had requested a welfare check for Mumtha after she failed to show up for work. Naresh spoke to the police during this check on August 2nd. And then it was three days later that he filed the missing persons report. So, Chanel, what stuck out to you when Zamas was on the stand reading some of those searches? There's so much that's so interesting about these Google searches, not just the content of the searches, but also the language choices, right? You know, I think he was trying to look up adoption, but he actually called it donation. And I should note as well, Naresh and Mumtha have a daughter together. And days before the child's first birthday, Mumtha had actually been missing for three weeks. And Naresh searched, quote, I mean, based on that search, it did not sound like Naresh had high hopes for finding Mumtha and might have even been preparing for the possibility of raising their daughter alone. We should say the child is now being cared for by Mumtha's mother and brother while Naresh stands trial for Mumtha's murder. But months prior to that, what he called donation, Thank you. search. Naresh also reportedly looked up what happened if, and that's intended misspelling and grammar, what happened if spouse disappears in divorce in Virginia. And this was not the only reference to divorce that he made. What can you tell us about that? Yeah, I think there's so many questions about what their relationship was like. And investigators are saying that in March of 2024, Naresh had actually asked an unknown person to set him up with a Colombian woman. That person apparently said, Natalie, that they didn't do that. They didn't connect him with that woman because they thought that Mamta was going to move back in with him. Naresh responded by saying that, no, they're just living together while they're trying to figure out how to get a divorce. But you're right, Natalie. I mean, he did have other searches about divorce. At one point, he searched, quote, need divorce, spouse die in Virginia. And again, intentional grammar there. And, quote, can I divorce if wife lost? So the searches, I should clarify here, we don't know exactly when they were made. We can't know the specific date because the history of those searches could have been cleared. The server could have been cleared. But I think regardless, the searches themselves give us a bit of a picture and the jury a bit of a picture of what his state of mind was and what potentially their relationship was like right before all this happened or around the time when Mamta went missing. Something else that was really fascinating here that stuck out to me was that investigators found that Mamta was actually saved under the name Bad Memory in his phone. Hi, everybody. I'm Nora O'Donnell, and I want to tell you about my new podcast, Healthful. Every week, I bring you the latest science, Dr. Brehm, myth-busting, and trusted medical expertise. Keri Menopause is hormonal chaos. We have biology to help you not suffer, to help you improve your health, your happiness. This is like something you can't do without. It's such an aha moment. And just to improve your life. I think talking about this is so incredibly important. Healthful, a new CBS News podcast wherever you get your podcasts. There were also a number of text messages that investigators were covered between Mamta and her brother, Mahesh Kafle. Five months before she disappeared, Mamta reportedly confided in her brother about the abuse she says she experienced at the hands of her husband, Naresh. Now, according to WUSA, Mahesh said, she told me she's unsafe. Chanel, this isn't the first time that we've heard about abuse allegations in the Bott house, right? Yeah. And this has become a big part of this story, right? In our last coverage of this case, we talked about Sarita Nupani's testimony. This is somebody who, you know, is a friend of the Bott family who said that Mamta told her that Naresh had hit her before. Naresh and his defense team, though, they've not admitted to or denied the case. They've not admitted to or denied the case. They've not admitted to or denied those allegations. And then last week after the jury was dismissed, the prosecution and the defense's attorney, Natalie, were arguing about whether or not those statements from Mahesh that you just mentioned should even be admissible in court in this murder trial. The judge said that, look, it depends. Some of the things are going to be admissible and some of the things aren't. Well, Naresh's team seemed to be making a serious effort to try to keep any mention of domestic violence out of the courtroom. I mean, as we've mentioned in our previous coverage before the trial even began, the defense put forward a motion to disallow references to domestic violence allegations during jury selection and opening statements of this trial. But ultimately, the judge denied this. So it's difficult for me to imagine, you know, domestic violence not being a big piece of this murder trial. You know, I could see keeping any mention of abuse out of the courtroom, you know, how that might leave a hole in the prosecution's argument. Yeah. And I think it's important to also mention that one of Naresh's attorneys had said, that those that were close to the butts had testified their relationship had actually improved. A friend of a couple had texted Naresh saying, I thought you guys were good. So on October 21st, there were also a number of security cam videos which show Naresh bought tossing bags into a trash compactor in Falls Church, Virginia, on July 31st, 2024. Now, this is the day after prosecutors believe that Mamta was murdered. I want to play some of the questioning of the investigators about that footage. What did we just see him do at minute, seven minutes in? Um, throw bags into the trash compactor. Do we see him driving away at this point? Yes. Stopping this at eight minutes and six seconds. Chanel, what do you think the prosecutors are trying to argue here? So what happened to Mamta's body is still a huge question, right? And prosecutors are saying here that they believe that Naresh dismembered her body and then disposed of the pieces in multiple trash compactors and dumpsters, uh, in Northern Virginia. So one was that trash compactor that we just saw in Falls Church. They've also got footage of him at a Manassas Park, Virginia apartment complex. And in that piece of footage, you actually see him throwing away more bags into a dumpster. So this was the apartment complex where Naresh had dropped off his daughter on the morning of July 30th. And around that time, it's also when he disposed of those bags. Well, according to the prosecutors and that video footage, he came back to the apartment that afternoon to pick up his daughter from Amanda, who was the babysitter, right? Yeah. And the babysitter actually testified to this in court a couple of weeks ago. She had a lot to say, Natalie, about Naresh's demeanor when he came to pick up his daughter that day. I want to play more of that here. You're hearing from Amanda Hiro Perez testifying via translator. So I opened the door and he like pushed a little bit the door in, and he kept going towards the inside. So he got into the living room and he was looking all over the place. He was on his phone and he said something in English really fast, and I didn't understand. And that's why I later asked him about that. Was that the first time the defendant has come into your apartment? Yes. Did you invite the defendant in? No. No. It was when I went out and I just, you know, looked at him and I noticed that he was looking around everywhere like anxious. But always standing there looking towards the window. This testimony could be really revealing, right, Natalie? The sitter is calling him anxious. She says that he kind of pushes his way into the apartment. He's looking around, looking around. It definitely paints a picture of someone who was on edge around the time that his wife disappeared. And I can see the jury really paying close attention to this. Right. And, you know, we've discussed extensive digital evidence around this case. Now I want to get into actual physical evidence that has also been brought into the courtroom. I saw that the prosecution entered a section of the bot's home's primary bedroom carpet as evidence. Chanel, what can you tell us about what was on that carpet? Yeah. So prosecutors talked. About believing that there's evidence of bloodstains on the carpet. As for how they made that determination, Natalie, they say that they use technology called Blue Star Forensic, which is basically a luminol-based substance. You sort of spray it on surfaces. It lights up blue if it indicates that there is any evidence of blood there. So the crime scene investigator, Joseph Restino, he testified that samples that he took from the carpet actually did test positive for blood. I'm going to play some of his testimony here and you can hear the defense's question. And then you'll hear the prosecution's response. If I cut my hand and I washed my hands, could that leave a blue star reaction in the sink? Yes, it could. If I cut my hand and I washed my hands and then I shook my hands off and it got onto the counter, could that leave a blue star reaction? Yes, it could. Let's say somebody was stabbed within a bedroom. Would you expect you to get a blue star reaction if that blood had in fact gotten onto the floor? Yes, I would. So I don't know if this is going to be sort of the smoking gun in this case, but you can definitely see the defense trying to ask if the prosecution is sure that the substance there is really blood. And then the prosecution sort of trying to steer the focus back to their argument. Hi, I'm Tony DeCoppo. And as anchor of the CBS Evening News, I'm filled with endless curiosity about our war crimes. I'm Tony DeCoppo, and I'm going to talk to you about the war crimes and our society. Maybe you are, too. My new podcast is called Great Question. It's an effort to capture that curiosity and to answer the question you haven't heard a satisfying answer to, or maybe haven't even heard asked. Follow and listen to Great Question with Tony DeCoppo wherever you get your podcasts. The Unsolved Mysteries podcast is back. I'm Jordan Murphy, and each week I'll take you inside a new investigation. It could be an unsolved mystery, or it could be a new investigation. I'm Tony DeCoppo, and I'm An unexplained disappearance, the search for a wanted fugitive, any mystery that still needs answers. We'll follow every new lead, every break in the case, and the moments when a mystery is finally solved. Because after all these years, one thing hasn't changed. Someone, somewhere, knows the truth. Listen to and follow Unsolved Mysteries, available now wherever you get your podcasts. One of the most compelling pieces of physical evidence that came up in court is also a a saw that Naresh Bhat gave to his lands Jose Ayala. Now, investigators believe this is what Naresh used to actually dismember Mamta's body. Ayala took the saw, apparently, but after he heard about Mamta's disappearance, he then turned it over to the police. And here's what he had to say on the stand through a translator. So I didn't want to carry that, you know, in my mind, but probably it could be something, and or probably it couldn't be nothing. But just to be, you know, fine with me and my conscience, I decided to go to the police and tell them that I had the saw. So, I mean, the Commonwealth attorneys are probably pretty grateful that this person actually turned the saw over after they found out what had happened to Mamta, because investigators, Natalie, ended up finding a sort of reddish-brown stain. They also found some hair-like strands on that saw. So forensic scientists, they took a look at this, and ultimately they were able to confirm that the strands are hair, but because there wasn't a full follicle on it, they couldn't conduct a DNA analysis. Here is what the lead crime scene investigator, Andrea Feldman, had to say about her findings in the courtroom. So the reddish-brown staining was on the inside of the saw. And what did you believe the reddish-brown stains to be? I believed it to be blood. And so, get this, the same model saw was actually passed around by the jury, so they could get a sense of what it looked and felt like. I can't imagine what that would have been like for them. Yeah, just harrowing and just kind of gives you the chills to see, you know, that saw being passed around in the hands of the jury and knowing what a saw like that might have been used for. So, what is next here, Chanel? So the prosecution has rested its guard. That's right. So, as we come to a close today, I do want to play some testimony from Mamta's former roommate, Nadia. Um, Mamta was my friend and my roommate. She rarely left the apartment, so we would do things kind of COVID style, like cut each other's hair, um, makeup, we would watch YouTube videos. Did you study together at any point? Yeah, we did. And what, if anything, were you studying? Uh, I'm a biology major and she was studying for the NCLEX exam, I believe. Did you help each other study? Sometimes, yeah. I mean, Mamta seems to be somebody that Nadia remembers very fondly. She also testified that she was supposed to meet to catch up with Mamta and her baby around the time of her disappearance, but Nadia said she just didn't hear from Mamta ever again. It is truly such a tragic loss. You know, I think something that's been clear throughout this trial is just how much Mamta has been missed, how big of an impact that she had on her friends, on her family, on her community. The community, you know, has really rallied around this case and rallied around her loss. So good to have you with us again, sharing all your knowledge on this case. Thank you, Chanel Call, as always. Thank you. And I do want to take a moment to say that if you or if someone you know may be experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788. And we will be back next week with another episode of Case by Case. For our continuing coverage, you can check the Case by Case feed wherever you find your podcasts. And you can also watch episodes of Case by Case on the 48 Hours YouTube channel or by searching Case by Case on Paramount Plus. Be sure to rate and review and let us know which cases you're following and which cases you would like us to follow. I don't know what I'm doing. Need a break. Forget it. I quit. Escape to Pluto TV. This is objectively fantastic. 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