Husband Charged With Her Murder, yet His Wife Is Still Missing… Where Is Mamta Kafle Bhatt?

Summary

Summary of "Husband Charged With Her Murder, yet His Wife Is Still Missing… Where Is Mamta Kafle Bhatt?"

True Crime with Kendall Rae
Release Date: March 6, 2025
Hosted by: Mile Higher Media & Audioboom Studios

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Introduction

In this chilling episode, Kendall Rae delves into the disturbing and complex case of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a young mother and nurse who vanished under suspicious circumstances. Kendall emphasizes the severity of the case and the urgent need for continued awareness and justice.

Background: Who Was Mamta Kafle Bhatt?

Mamta Kafle Bhatt was an exceptionally kind, intelligent, and dedicated individual. Born and raised in Nepal to parents Geeta and Kamal, Mamta excelled academically and pursued a nursing career first in Bangalore, India, and later in the United States. She moved to the U.S. in July 2021 after marrying Naresh Bhatt in December 2020. Mamta was a beloved pediatric nurse at the UVA Health Prince William Medical Center, known for her empathy and dedication, even while eight months pregnant.

Notable Quote:

"Mamta was someone who worked incredibly hard, was very dedicated to her career, and was well liked by all of her peers."
— Kendall Rae [04:15]

The Marriage and Signs of Abuse

Naresh Bhatt, also from Nepal and a U.S. citizen residing in Virginia, served in the army as an automated logistics specialist. Their marriage, believed by some to be arranged, soon revealed troubling dynamics. Although Mamta initially lived with a roommate, Nadia, Naresh exhibited controlling behaviors, such as restricting her phone usage and mobility.

Notable Quote:

"Naresh is just very, very controlling."
— Kendall Rae [10:45]

Despite the abusive environment, Mamta kept her struggles private, leading her family and friends to believe their lives were relatively stable.

Disappearance and Initial Investigation

On Wednesday, August 2, 2024, Mamta failed to show up for work, prompting the Manassas Park Police Department to initiate a welfare check. During a 14-minute body cam interview, Naresh provided inconsistent statements about Mamta’s whereabouts, claiming she traveled to Texas or New York to visit her sister—a claim later debunked as Mamta had no sister in the U.S.

Notable Quote:

"She didn't run away. She was killed by her husband and then disposed of."
— Prosecutor [35:20]

Community Response and Rising Suspicion

As Mamta's absence continued, the community, particularly the Nepali American group, rallied to support the search efforts. Suspicion toward Naresh grew as he failed to participate in these efforts and provided vague explanations during media interactions.

Notable Quote:

"If someone is out there, like you could just walk on your first day at work, and like you had something happened to her or she ran off a truck."
— Kendall Rae [07:50]

Breakthroughs in the Investigation

Investigators executed multiple search warrants at Naresh’s residence, uncovering substantial evidence:

• Blood Evidence: Advanced luminol testing revealed pools of blood and blood spatter in the master bedroom and bathroom.
• Purchase of Cleaning Supplies: Surveillance footage showed Naresh buying cleaning supplies and knives from various stores, indicating an attempt to clean the crime scene or dispose of evidence.
• Digital Footprint: Naresh's searches revealed an interest in disposing of a spouse, with queries like "how long does it take to get married after spouse dies?"

Notable Quote:

"He had been selling his Tesla and trying to sell his house to possibly hide evidence or secure funds to flee."
— Kendall Rae [28:15]

Legal Proceedings and Charges

On August 22, 2024, Naresh Bhatt was arrested and charged with concealment of a dead body. Despite the prosecution's efforts and mounting evidence, Naresh's defense contested the sufficiency of the evidence, arguing misinterpretations of the blood evidence and questioning the timeline.

• Bond Hearing: The prosecution argued Naresh was a flight risk and danger to society, while the defense claimed financial necessity for his actions. The court denied bail, keeping Naresh detained.

• Trial Developments: Prosecutors presented a timeline that contradicted Naresh's statements, including sightings of him near locations linked to the crime scene and his purchasing of cleaning supplies shortly after Mamta’s disappearance.

Notable Quote:

"The prosecutions revealed that Naresh dismembered Mamta to dispose of the evidence."
— Police Chief Mario Lugo [36:06]

Community and Family Impact

Mamta’s family, initially in Nepal, received emergency visas to join her in the U.S., bringing her one-year-old daughter into the care of extended family and friends. Vigils and community events provided solace and continued pressure for justice.

Notable Quote:

"Her daughter will never get the chance to grow up with her mom, never get the chance to know her beyond what her family is able to tell her."
— Kendall Rae [53:23]

Final Charges and Upcoming Trial

In December 2024, Naresh was formally charged with first-degree murder and physically defiling a body. The prosecution secured DNA evidence linking Mamta to blood found at the crime scene, solidifying their case against Naresh. The trial is set to begin on September 8, 2025, with ongoing community support and anticipation for justice.

Notable Quote:

"Naresh is an abusive, manipulative, low vibrational, garbage, worthless human being that is the only one that belongs in the trash."
— Kendall Rae [59:05]

Conclusion

This harrowing case underscores the complexities of domestic abuse, the challenges of legal investigations, and the resilience of a community united in the pursuit of justice. Kendall Rae passionately advocates for Mamta's memory and the protection of vulnerable individuals in abusive relationships.

Final Thoughts:

"I believe that justice is coming, and I hope it happens very soon."
— Kendall Rae [53:46]

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Note: This summary intentionally omits advertisements and non-essential segments to focus solely on the critical aspects of Mamta's case as discussed in the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Kendall Rae]

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Get [e-mail] Factor50OFF to get 50 off plus free shipping on your first box weight loss with Factor Keto based on a randomized controlled clinical trial. Results will vary depending on diet and exercise. Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of True Crime with Kendall Rae. Thank you so much for joining me as always and if you're new to the show, then welcome. I'm so happy to have you here. So guys, today we're going to be getting into a case that I won't lie, I just want to say right off the bat is extremely disturbing and infuriating as so many of these cases are, but it's definitely one that needs coverage and it might be one that you're familiar with if you follow True Crime News and kind of, you know, the latest in high profile cases. Today we're going to be discussing the case of Mamta Coughle Bot, a young mother and nurse who disappeared just last summer. And again, just to warn you, the details in this case are highly disturbing and what Manta likely went through in her final moments of life, it's hard to even comprehend. I have a ton of information to go over today. This is definitely going to be a longer episode and before I get into it, I did just want to quickly mention how beautiful it has been to see the community behind Manta and her friends and family who have been rallying for justice. Now she hasn't quite gotten justice, but I am very confident that that is right around the corner. However, I do have to say, as in cases like this that are ongoing, everyone that I speak about today is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. And with that, since, as I said, we do have a bunch to go over, let's just go ahead and jump in. So I want to tell you about Momta and who she was before her life was stolen from her. The incredibly kind, smart and beautiful Mamta Khafli was born and raised in Nepal to her parents, Geeta and Kamal. And she had one brother named Mahesh. Growing up in Nepal, Mamta has been described as an incredibly bright student. And she was someone who did everything to the best of her ability, truly dedicated to everything that she did. So when it came to her education, she went to Bangalore, India in search of better opportunities. And it was there that Mamta became a nurse. And let me tell you, this was the perfect occupation for her because on top of being incredibly smart, she was also very nurturing, empathetic and kind. You know, which all were qualities that made her perfect for that career. And she didn't just study to become a nurse once. She did it twice. First in India and then again in the United States when she moved here. Mamda came to the US in July of 2021 after getting married to Naresh Bhatt in December of 2020. Now, some sources say that this was an arranged marriage, others say it wasn't. So I'm not totally sure how this came to be, but the bottom line is the two of them got married and Momta moved out to the. Now let me tell you a little bit about Naresh. He's also from Nepal, but he was living as a U.S. citizen in Virginia where he served in the army as an automated logistics specialist. And at one point he also tried to become a police recruit, but that lasted a whopping 22 days because they said he didn't meet the qualifications. And I guess because of his service, Momta didn't move in with him right away when she first came to the US and instead she was living with a roommate, a girl named Nadia. And the reason I bring up Nadia is because she was actually one of the first people to witness Naresh's treatment of Mamta. Apparently, even though he wasn't living with them, he wouldn't let Momta have her own cell phone or leave the house for longer than five minutes. Naresh is just very, very controlling. That will become more and more clear as this episode goes on. But for example, there was one time where Nadia and Mamta were driving to this spice store and Naresh called Nadia actually freaking out, saying his wife wasn't allowed to go. And so the two of them had to quickly turn around and go back. And for reasons that we're not totally sure, you know, and it's a difficult thing, and many people do this, and it's. It's more complicated than people understand. In violent relationships like this, abusive relationships like this, Momcha kind of always made excuses for why he treated her this way. And I know to a lot of people, that doesn't make sense. And people are like, why would you stay? You know, and there's so many different reasons why someone feels like they can't get out of an abusive relationship or why they need to make excuses for their partner. And, I mean, it can go on and on and on, but I just don't feel like there's any place for judgment for mom to kind of making these excuses for him. And because she didn't talk about his treatment with others, people actually didn't really know anything was wrong, including her own family. Her mom, who she actually talked to via Facebook calls twice a day every day, has said that their family was under the impression that things were more or less fine. I mean, they knew that she and Naresh had, you know, their arguments, as most couples do, you know, disagreements here and there, but nothing more than that. And honestly, their life looked pretty good from the outside. They were living in this beautiful home on a cul de sac in Manassas Park, Virginia, and unless you were inside those walls, you probably would have just thought everything was okay between them. Momta was working her way through getting her nursing license again, and eventually she became a pediatric nurse at the UVA Health Prince William Medical Center. And momta was someone who worked incredibly hard, was very dedicated to her career, and was well liked by all of her peers. She was known for her bedside manner and ability to really connect with patients, make them feel heard and safe. And she was the type of person to bring food for her other co workers even when she was busy herself. Even at eight months pregnant, she was still running up and down the halls of the hospital, despite everyone telling her that she needed to take it easy. And mom to gave birth to her first baby girl in August of 2023, which was by far one of the happiest days of her life. Having a daughter and becoming a mom was one of the greatest achievements of her life. And the joy that this baby brought her was just immeasurable. And she was the type of mom who documented everything on social media and not just for her own enjoyment, but also because her family was still in Nepal. So things like Facebook and TikTok were an easy and fun way to keep people in the loop with how things were going. Now, her mom had actually planned to fly to the US after she had given birth to her daughter, just to help with the newborn life. As you know, many people's parents come into town and help them if they don't already live there. But for some reason, Naresh's mom came out instead. And I don't know what the reasoning was behind that, but I bring it up because Naresh's mom did not treat Momta well at all. It's been said that his family follows much more traditional religious beliefs, and because of that, they were a lot stricter than her family. Which is fine. You know, I understand cultural differences between families, but being strict is much different than being straight up cruel. For example, there's this ancient tradition in Nepal called chowpati, which is a form of menstrual taboo where women and girls are deemed impure during menstruation and therefore they can't participate in typical family activities. This is a simplified explanation, and I'm certainly not an expert on this topic, but basically, people who practice this tradition will banish a woman during her period to avoid bad luck and bad health. And when Naresh's mom was visiting, she would force Mamta to sleep in a different part of the house when she was on her period and was straight up mean to her under the guise of tradition. It's also been said that she wouldn't feed or help take care of Mamta after she had just given birth to her grandchild. And this is just horrible. But it's also been reported that she allegedly took part in beating Manta, like physically beating her, which also is now something that we know Naresh had also been doing. And the true depths of what she had been through has only recently come to light, including this piece of information. In February of 2024, officers with the Manassas Police department showed up at the Bot residence after responding to a disorderly conduct call. When they got there, Momta explained that Naresh was refusing to hand over her personal documents and that he had destroyed her phone. And I guess he must have let her have a phone at some point again, because we do know that she did get one eventually. But the part about him withholding her personal documents is especially concerning because she was in the process of trying to become a US citizen. And to me, and I'm sure to most of you, him keeping those documents from her is a very manipulative form of abuse. And she didn't end up pressing charges against him. But she did do something instead. She packed up her things, she grabbed her daughter, and she went to a close friend's house where she stayed for about a week. The issue, though, is that she had no car, no money, no phone, nothing that would allow her any kind of independence from Naresh. So this friend, who was an angel, took mom to and even put her on her family's phone plan. And Momta's main form of transportation had always been Uber. So this friend also made sure that she was set up on the app so that she didn't lose her job and could get to work. Work. And she really needed this job because Naresh controlled her finances, making it incredibly difficult to be out on her own. And this is something that we see in abusive relationships all the time. And she really was trying her best to stay away. After spending one week with that friend, she ended up spending another eight to nine days in an apartment with another Nepali family. And this is when she first started to open up about the abuse. She even ended up joining this Facebook group that month that was dedicated to separated, divorced, and also single moms in the area. 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So the fact that Rocket Money can take care of that for me is my personal favorite part. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of 500 million in cancel subscriptions, saving members up to 740 a year. When you use all of the app's premium features, cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money, go to rocket money.com Kendall Rae today that's rocketmoney.com Kendall Ray once again, rocketmoney.com Kendall Ray and one post she made reads hi, I have six month old baby and I'm in process of separation. I work two days a week and my husband is not helping to take care of baby. He is saying that if I leave baby with him he will send child to custody. Is it possible I need a help for a child care, I need help from social worker and need some advice. And once when responding to a comment she said how to file that we were living together and I don't have money now too. He withdrew all money from joint account. However, despite saying that her and Naresh were in the process of separating, they did end up staying together. She ultimately told friends that the two of them were going to go to counseling and just try to work through it. But it is strongly believed that the abuse did not stop. Which sadly brings me to August of 2024 and the reason that I am talking about Momta today. On Wednesday, August 2, 2024, two officers with the Manassas Park Police Department were called to the BOT residence after Momta failed to show up for work that day and the day before. And it's interesting, she'd only been at this job for a few weeks, but in that time she really made a big impression on people. So much so that in this quick time of getting to know her, they knew that it was so unlike her for her just to not show up to work. And that's why they immediately wanted to get the police involved. Take A listen.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Hello, sir.

[Kendall Rae]

How are you?

[Police Officer]

I'm off to the team of NASCAR, please. We're looking for Ms. Monta Coughlee.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, we see like on Tuesday, Wednesday, she left and then she says she gonna go either New York or Texas. And then she left. Like she had the phone and then she destroyed that phone and then she left. So she.

[Police Officer]

She destroyed the phone and she left. She said she was going to New York.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, her sister, like one of our sister.

[Police Officer]

Okay, do you have any of their contact information?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, I. I like she has a different. Different three phones. I do have like a two phone numbers. One phone number somebody other receiving one another for contact number for the new year. I do have.

[Police Officer]

Okay, can you show me that? Can you.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Can we get those phone numbers from you?

[Police Officer]

Yeah, we just want to see if she's okay because we have an employer calling.

[Kendall Rae]

Hi.

[Police Officer]

Did she say why she left?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, because, you know, like we are about to separate and then the home inspection come here to. I'm about to sell the home. So you know, like she want to say, like, okay, I want to go, you know, with my sisters. And then she used to work Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Okay. And then sometimes, see, I don't know where you can come inside or I can come outside. And you know, like she used to live in a false church. I don't know the exact address. I know the building because, you know, I see noticed there because, you know, I saw her email and then one place over there and then I don't know, somewhere in Manassas. Because on the 8th, I. I think like on the 8th, she started a job last month. No, no. Yeah, last month. Sorry.

[Police Officer]

Okay.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, yeah, on the 8th. So, you know, I'm not working working since that. She said like, you know, she gonna be stay there. And then once she gonna be everything settled down, she will take the baby. She's not gonna leave the baby with me. That's what she said. I know the building in Falls Church where she was still. She's living over there or Texas. Because I already conversation with the her sister. She just did not reply me. And then, you know, she was asking me. And then her mom. And then her mom is also asking. Asking for me. I don't know where you see.

[Police Officer]

Okay, so if you could give us the phone numbers, please. You want to see if we can make contact with her.

[Naresh Bhatt]

This is not the first time multiple times she go and then come back in few days.

[Police Officer]

Okay.

[Naresh Bhatt]

I don't have the phone number for her sister. You know, usually I have a Like Facebook. But like, I don't have her phone number. So, you know, like, that's what, you know. I replied like 2, 4, 23. Usually she works Thursday to Saturday she works there. And then, you know, like, it's not like first time she disappear and then came back. I live with my parents over there. She said, like, okay, I'm not gonna live with your parents. My parents left back home. And then, you know, still a lot of. She got the green card already. And then she was about to, you know, like, yeah, okay.

[Police Officer]

When she left, was she. Did you say anything about hurting yourself or anything concerning?

[Naresh Bhatt]

No, because, you know, if it's the first time, then, you know, like, I can say, okay, where are you going? This and that. This is like, you know, multiple times. I don't know, like, you know, we call you, but like, you know, sometimes he came back.

[Kendall Rae]

All right, so that was a pretty long clip. I actually only played you three minutes of the entire body cam footage, which is actually 14 minutes long. And I'll play a few more bits and pieces here and there throughout this episode. But the chunk that I just played summarizes it. Well, it was a whole lot of word vomiting and bullshit. And I mean, you heard it for yourself. The second the officer says Momta's name, he jumps into this whole story. And just to reiterate the story is that the previous Wednesday, July 31, Momta destroyed her phone. And then she either went to Texas or New York to be with her sister, specifically because they were in the process of separating and he was selling the house. And another thing that he repeats actually is the idea that Mamta had done this before, that she had disappear. Then you also hear him say that she always comes back later on. He goes into detail about how she would leave and then he would essentially track her location via email.

[Naresh Bhatt]

At that time, she has a laptop over here in my laptop. Her email was on. And I see Uber was there. She did the Uber. And then I went to the nearby the building. And then I saw her, you know, like at the building. Because, you know, I work. I work for her. Like, you know, work style. I see her there. And then same thing happens again another time right here in the bright street, right? She's like, at that time we had a conversation, she's here. Like I'm in the Fairfax, but like, you know, I just guess maybe like she's there and then I just wait for a few hours over there. At that time my parents was here. So, you know, I can go there and then I see she's just stepping out from her. One of my friend. Both, like, you know, both of us friends. And then she just step out. And then I went inside. You know, why are you. Are you lying? You know, if you want to go, just go. If you don't want to go, you know, like. But I don't want to stay with you. That's what I say.

[Kendall Rae]

And I'm sure you guys feel the same, but this is clearly a tactic to try and diminish the severity of the situation. Kind of playing the whole she's left and come back. This is what she always does. So who's to say she's not going to come back this time? You know, that whole thing like diffuse the sense of emergency. But I got to say, I'm glad this dude just word vomited like that because he says a lot of things that he would later contradict. But unfortunately, in that moment, the officers seem to believe him. And at one point, Naresh even goes inside and you can even hear them talking pretty casually about the situation.

[Police Officer]

So we don't have contact. I mean, what I'm thinking is if maybe get his info and tell us to give us a call if she comes back. Yep. Dennis, info sounds like they're going through a divorce. So she decided to go to New York with her sister. If she just comes back and gives you a call and just. I think it was her job who called. Just called him, let them know that hey, spoke to the husband. It appears they are going through a divorce and she left and went to New York.

[Kendall Rae]

And this whole video is honestly pretty disappointing in terms of these two officers. I mean, you guys literally watched Naresh, offered to let them inside the house, and they didn't take him up on it. And as you're going to hear later, going into the house and taking a look around could have significantly changed the direction of this case or at least sped things up.

[Naresh Bhatt]

See, I don't know where you can come inside or I can come outside.

[Police Officer]

Yeah.

[Kendall Rae]

And in the end, they basically came to the conclusion that they would swap information with Naresh and he could reach out if she didn't come home.

[Police Officer]

Okay, well, if. If she end up missing, just call us back again. Would be a good idea to contact people that, you know, that knows her. Do you have my number? Just. You can shoot me a text if you want. Just give me. Let me know if she comes back.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Sure, sure.

[Police Officer]

All right.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Until Sunday. I don't think so. So, you know, hopefully she will be back by Sunday.

[Police Officer]

If not, you're talking about this after tomorrow?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Is that what you mean? Okay.

[Kendall Rae]

Yeah.

[Naresh Bhatt]

This Sunday. Because, you know, she worked like maybe Saturday night. Because she worked like. Oh, no, because she's not at work now.

[Kendall Rae]

Right.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Because before this 8th, she used to work in another hospital. And then maybe she applied somewhere else and then trying to do that one as well. I need to figure that out, you know, because she used to work at the. I know of a hospital and then she switch over there and if she want to try to move somewhere, if she applied somewhere. I don't know how to figure that out.

[Police Officer]

Okay.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah.

[Police Officer]

All right, well, we'll give the employer a call. And just what you said, Texas.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Either New York. Either Texas.

[Police Officer]

Oh, either New York or Texas. All right, sir. Thank you so much. Okay.

[Kendall Rae]

All right. And after this, it took Naresh an additional two days to report her missing. And even then, the only reason he did it at all was because mom does family, specifically her brother begged him to. They knew in their gut that something was wrong because she'd stopped answering all of her mom's calls. And remember, they talked twice a day most of the time. Over the last two and a half years, I have made drastic improvements to my overall health and really optimized my nutrition. And the biggest takeaway I've gotten from my transformation is realizing how important it is to set myself up for success. And that means planning ahead. And one of the ways that I plan ahead is by making sure I bring a healthy lunch to my office building because it's always tempting when other team members are ordering something or going out to lunch. But if I have my lunch all ready to go, I know I'm gonna be able to make a healthy choice. And that's why I love Factor. Factor has chef made gourmet meals that make eating well easy. They're dietitian approved and ready to heat and eat in just two minutes. So you can feel right and feel great no matter what life throws at you. Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared, perfect for any active, busy lifestyle. With 40 options across eight dietary preferences on the menu each week, it's easy to pick meals that are tailored for your go. Choose from preferences like Calorie Smart, Protein plus, or Keto Factor can help you feel your best all day long with wholesome smoothies, breakfasts, grab and go snacks, and more add ons. Reach your goals this year with ingredients that you can trust and convenience that you just can't beat. Eat smart with Factor. Get started@Factor Meals.com Factor Podcast and use Factor Podcast to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. That's Code Factor Podcast at Factor Meals.com Factor Podcast to get 50 off plus free shipping on your first box. So on the night of Sunday, August 4th, after her family pleaded with Naresh, he texted the officer letting him know that she hadn't come back. And it took another day. But on August 5th, the missing person report for the 28 year old mother was officially filed. And only three days after that they ended up upgrading her missing person status. Before it was just missing person, but now it was involuntary critical missing person. And they did this because after reaching out to her family and friends, they learned that nobody had heard from her and that her social media just went dark, which just at the end of the day didn't match her typical behavior, which led them to believe that someone may have done something to her. And once word started to spread about her disappearance, the Manassas park community came together quickly. And their efforts, like I said, they're really beautiful to see given the horrible circumstances in those early days. Weeks and now months, dozens of supporters have come together to drive attention to her disappearance, including but not limited to the Nepali American community. People showed up to rallies left and right and they made damn sure that Mamta had a voice, especially because her family couldn't be there quite yet to do it themselves. They were still in Nepal, desperately trying to get answers from Naresh, who refused to tell them anything. And another huge red flag. He wasn't showing up for any of these rallies or search efforts. And he was super, super weird when it came to speaking with the media. For instance, on August 12, a reporter tried to talk to him about his wife's disappearance and Naresh said that he had to ask for authorization to speak to them. I'm about to play the clip so you can see it for yourself. But just for some context, Naresh worked in IT for the government and supposedly had some sort of like special security clearance, tbd. If that's actually true though, would you.

[Police Officer]

Mind sharing with us just some words about, you know, getting, helping you out to find her, share flyers or anything like that?

[Naresh Bhatt]

What do you mean?

[Police Officer]

Just like she knows, obviously your, your wife is missing and I'm sure you're, you're worried about it and you know, to kind of get the community to, if they see her to give a call, anything like that. Would you be ready to share some words with us?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, either call to the police or like any of our family or friends.

[Police Officer]

Yeah, could you tell me that maybe just on a mic Just to say, like, you know, reach out. Please help us out. I'm sure you're. You're probably really concerned after, you know, all these days. It's been 13 days.

[Naresh Bhatt]

I know. You have a little baby. A little baby daughter. Yeah. So should I. Like, I don't know, like, should I authorize to come on the media or not? Like, I need to ask something, and then I can come back on the media.

[Police Officer]

But you don't want to do it now?

[Naresh Bhatt]

No.

[Police Officer]

Okay.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Because, you know, I didn't ask them. Oh, you asked them. So, like, you know, I'm not authorized or. I'm authorized.

[Police Officer]

I mean, I. I think it's up to you whether you want to get the word out.

[Naresh Bhatt]

I'm gonna, you know, ask.

[Police Officer]

You want to ask police?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yes.

[Police Officer]

Okay.

[Kendall Rae]

After watching that, I'm sure we can all agree Naresh seems incredibly sketchy, incredibly dodgy. I mean, why can't you just say, like, I love you. Please come back. I miss you. I'm worried about you. Anything that a normal, you know, husband of a wife who is currently missing would say, but he. He can't say anything like that. He has to be just as weird as possible. And his interviews with the media never improved after this. The most notable interaction that he had with a reporter was on August 14th. And listen closely to what he says about her leaving, about your life, what.

[Reporter]

Has been going on the last couple days, Weeks.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, it's been very terrible time. You know, like, we are just, you know, like my baby and then myself. We are just waiting, minute and second, every minute and second, just waiting, like, to get the. You know, I don't know how to explain.

[Reporter]

How are you doing?

[Naresh Bhatt]

I don't know. I'm. I'm, like, prostrating, you know.

[Reporter]

How long have you guys been married? Three years. You said. Talk to me about your relationship. What? You know, the last couple months. How have you guys been?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, it's been, like, you know, very good. Like, you know, since, like, two months. You know, like, before that, you know, one time we have, like, some arguments because, you know. Yeah.

[Reporter]

Do you want to grab her?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah. Can you hold her?

[Kendall Rae]

Yeah, of course.

[Reporter]

Hi. Obviously, there's been some. A little bit of discrepancy in the day you last saw her. Talk to me about the last time you saw her.

[Naresh Bhatt]

In the evening of the Wednesday. We were here, and then we ate together. Yes.

[Reporter]

What did she say? What was she like? Did she.

[Naresh Bhatt]

We don't have, like, any type of that, you know, it was, like, normal day, like, other regular days. Just, you know, like, you know, we were taking care of our babies. It was like, very normal.

[Reporter]

Did you. Did she say anything about leaving?

[Naresh Bhatt]

No.

[Reporter]

So how did you realize that she was missing?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Oh, you know, like she wasn't up here at her work, and then she's very, like, you know, focused on her work. And then once we know, like, no, she's not at work, then, you know, like, that makes very serious to me. And, you know, that's how, you know, like, I don't know, like, what I supposed to say.

[Reporter]

When was the last time you saw her?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Awareness day. In the evening.

[Reporter]

Okay, and then what happened after that? Did she leave? Did you leave?

[Naresh Bhatt]

No, just like, you know, she was like, you know, working on the kitchen. You know, like after, like, you know, eating dishes and then stuff like that. I just went upstairs with my baby.

[Reporter]

Okay. And you went to sleep or. Okay. And then what happened next? When was she supposed to go to work that night?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, we work early in the morning. Yeah. Yeah, you know, like about like, you know, 5:30, like around 6, we supposed to leave from the home, but she.

[Reporter]

Left the night before.

[Naresh Bhatt]

No, like, Thursday. Supposed to see at work.

[Kendall Rae]

On.

[Naresh Bhatt]

On Thursday she's supposed to at work.

[Reporter]

So Wednesday night, though, what happened there? You went to sleep. Where was she?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Oh, she was like, working in the kitchen. And then right there, you know, like, usually, like, you know, if I have to work, you know, like, I go there and then sometimes, you know, in the morning, we do not disturb because of the baby, you know, like, who is not working. We do not disturb to, you know, another person so, you know, keep taking care of the baby and then, you know, slightly left the home and then go for work. That's what. That's what the regular schedule is.

[Reporter]

So she never came to sleep, though?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yes, he came. Like, I heard like, you know, noise, something like that, you know, like she came like, you know, she was here doing like. Like DCS and then stuff like that. You know, I heard that, you know, like some type of noise, but like, you know, you don't, you know, like, pay much attention like that because that is the regular schedule.

[Reporter]

So you didn't normally sleep together at night?

[Naresh Bhatt]

Oh, you. We do sometimes, you know, like, if we have work, sometimes, you know, like, if we feel like, you know, more relaxed, like, you know, we go like there is like two separate areas. And then sometimes, you know, like one sleep on the floor, and then sometimes, you know, like another person sleep on the bed. You know, usually like, you know, we do not want to disturb our baby. That's why, you know, like, we try to, you know, like, minimize our noise, stuff like that.

[Kendall Rae]

I don't know if you caught that, but that's clearly not the same story that he told the officers in the body cam footage. In that body cam footage, Naresh said that he knew that Momta was leaving. He did the whole, you know, Texas, New York story. But now he's saying that they ate dinner together on the night of the 31st and that everything was fine and she just failed to show up for work the next day. Nothing about her smashing, destroying her own phone, and then going to visit her sister. Like, what happened to all of that, bro? Plus, I'm sure you also noticed this, but in that interview, he said that their relationship was good. And before he was saying that, they were in the process of getting separated. And I think what pissed me off the most about that interview is the fact that he had the audacity to say that he is suffering the most.

[Reporter]

You mentioned to me on the phone that you're the one suffering tonight. You mentioned.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Yeah, I'm the sufferer one. I'm the suffering. My baby and then myself, you know, like, we are suffering the most.

[Reporter]

What do you say to her if she's watching this right now?

[Naresh Bhatt]

If she's watching, come back. Whatever is the issue, you know, like, we can fix it.

[Reporter]

Did you guys have any sort of fight before?

[Kendall Rae]

No, I just find that so wildly offensive to her family and to her as well and the community who is all spending their time trying to raise awareness, trying to search for her. And he's doing jack shit, right? He has not joined in the efforts at all. So you're suffering the most? I don't think so. There was a community event that day where he did make a brief appearance, but that was the extent of his cooperation. But with or without him, the community and investigative efforts to locate Momta continued. This episode of True Crime with Kendall Ray is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are all things that people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliate. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. GEICO makes it easy to get affordable renters insurance in as little as 90 seconds. That way you have more energy for harder things like the laundry. Why is it so difficult to fold clothes? They just end up wrinkly anyway. Or on the floor in a pile that just sits there taunting you. But with renters insurance, through Geico, at least you know that those clothes and the other things you love are covered. Get more with Geico. And this just broke my heart. But her friends even hosted a first birthday party for her daughter, which is something that they say that she would have wanted. It just makes me so sad to think that she didn't get to be there for her daughter's first birthday. That is such a massive milestone for not only your child, but for you as a parent. And her missing, her child's birthday is just. It was proof to her loved ones that, you know, she did not choose to go missing. That is all they needed to know when she wasn't there. At the end of the day, it's just something that she never would have done. And by this point, a lot of people were getting pretty skeptical about Naresh. Just the way that he was acting and the way that he was treating her friends who just wanted to help was not giving grieving husband. It was giving leave me alone so that I can get away with this. But little did any of them know, things were about to take a sharp turn in this case. On Wednesday, August 21, investigators showed up at the Bot residence to execute a search warrant. And upon entry, detectives could immediately tell that Naresh had been packing up to leave based on the fact that they found packed suitcases, clothing missing from hangers, as well as his passport and his daughter's passport out in plain view. They also found a ton of other things which we will be talking about and will be the main focus in the second half of this episode. But later that night, a press conference was held to update the public on the events of that day. And the Manassas park police chief, Mario Lugo basically said a whole bunch of nothing. And obviously he can't say that much. It is an active investigation, but normally they'll give a little bit more in a press conference or at least spend a little bit more time speaking because the media was definitely like, okay, that's it. Because he only talked for one minute and he didn't provide really any useful information. But he did drop one major bomb about her husband.

[Naresh Bhatt]

Look, the search warrant's going to take another three to four hours to complete.

[Kendall Rae]

When I get the information, I will provide that. Do you have a person of interest? He is a person of interest. The husband he's been a point of interest and everybody knows that. And if people didn't know at that point that he was a person of interest, they certainly did by the next day. On August 22, 37 year old Naresh Bhatt was arrested and charged with concealment of a dead body in the disappearance of his wife. And later that afternoon, Mamta's supporters were updated during a press free meeting that was held by Chief Lugo and the mayor. They weren't able to share exactly what evidence was found, but they did share that they no longer believed Mamta was alive, which was obviously devastating news, heartbreaking beyond words and something that none of them wanted to hear. Now, as for her immediate family, they were still in Nepal, but efforts were being made to grant them emergency visas so that they could come to the United States as soon as possible. Mamta's daughter had been taken into the custody of social services and the hope was to get her family to the US as soon as possible so that they could be the ones to look after her. Her friends also offered to take custody of her in the meantime because they already knew and loved her and honestly the whole community was willing to show their support and that was very apparent. And on the same night that the charges were announced, a vigil was held outside of Mamta's house house and a collective vow was made to continue to bring awareness to her case. Getting justice has been their mission from day one. And like I said, I do believe, despite some bumps in the road, that justice is coming. So next. On Friday, August 23, Naresh appeared in court where he was arraigned on the single felony charge of concealment of a dead body. However, prosecutors also accused him of murdering his wife. They didn't actually charge him with murder, but they did say that they believed she was dead and that he was responsible. And to explain why they think that, I need to walk you through the big picture things that came to light during this hearing. And for starters, the prosecution revealed that the timeline was not what they originally thought it was like. We've already been over. Naresh had been saying that the last time he saw Mamta was on the night of July 31. Apparently, though in one of his many interviews with police, he said that he last saw her on the morning of August 1st after she left for work, which is similar to what he told that reporter. But they don't believe that she was alive on either of those dates. It's actually believed that the real time frame when Momta lost Her life was sometime between July 29 and July 30. And they didn't reveal everything about how they knew that, but they did talk about some of it. So let's go through the timeline that was known up until this point in time. We do know that on Saturday, July 27, 2024, Mom to went to work. We also know that on July 28, she posted for the last time on her TikTok and that she attempted to call one of her friends. On July 29, though, things start to get shaky. Investigators confirmed that mom just spoke to her mom that day. But after a certain point, all incoming calls went straight to voicemail. However, they said that her phone was still pinging until August 1st, which, keep in mind, was after Naresh originally said she had destroyed it. And I know this is getting confusing and complicated. Hopefully I can make sense of this to some degree for you guys. It is. It's a very confusing case because of, you know, so many conflicting statements, so many different dates and changes throughout the case. But I'm doing my best to explain this as best as I can. And that last ping from her phone was near a body of water in Loudoun County. And guess who admitted to being at a cafe in Loudoun county around the same time when her phone last pinged there? Naresh, of course. Worse. And if that doesn't make your skin crawl, this will. Prosecutors revealed that on July 30, he was seen on CCTV at a Walmart buying a three pack of knives, two of which, May I add, they have not been able to find. And believe it or not, that is not the only Walmart that he went to. Additional CCTV footage from the 31st shows that he went to a different Walmart in Chantilly where he could be seen buying cleaning supplies. And they believe that those supplies were used to clean up a significant amount of blood. According to prosecutors, Blue Star technology, which is just a more advanced luminol test, was used in their home. And the master bedroom and bathroom revealed what they described as pools of blood and blood spatter. And they also shared that their bed had been moved to block their walk in closet. And when they moved the bed, they saw pink stains on the carpet. And with that technology, it showed that there were drag marks from that carpet into the bathroom where. Where there was also a lot of blood. I mean, for starters, the shower and the bathtub just completely lit up when they did the testing. And then after removing the tub from the ground, when they were, you know, seizing it for evidence, they could See blood caked into the caulking and all of that was just the blood related evidence that they talked about. But there were also a few non blood related findings as well, including the fact that Naresh had sold his Tesla. He sold it to CarMax on August 19, which, may I remind you, was two days before the search warrant was executed. And I'm sure we are all well aware that Teslas are basically just giant computers with loads and loads of data which they didn't quite have yet, but they were definitely working on it. And in that same vein, we also learned that Naresh was attempting to sell his home. And I know that was mentioned in the body cam footage I played earlier, but at this point the public didn't have access to that. So this was technically new information. Now, I think there are are three ways that you could look at this. One, that he was selling these things to get rid of evidence. Two, that he was selling these things to make quick cash that he could flee, or three, a combination of one and two. And I would argue for number three. I think it was a combination of both. But of course that is alleged and I don't know that for sure. But as for the defense, they argued just about the opposite of everything that I just explained. Naresh had a public defender because he said he couldn't afford his own attorney. And the core of his argument was that the prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to qualify the charges. He said the amount of blood in the home was equivalent to that of a nosebleed. And without a body, they couldn't prove that he concealed anything. And after the hearing, MOMTA supporters gathered outside the courtroom in just disbelief over what they had heard. Holly Worth, who is a former colleague of Momta and someone who has been an incredible spokesperson and advocate for her in this case, shared that although it was horrible to hear those details, they felt it was likely that higher charges would be brought, which of course was ultimately their goal.

[Holly Worth]

And I think we're all in a state of shock. Again, the details that came out were way more horrifying than I would have expected. It sounds whatever happened in that house reached a high level of brutality. And that makes me sad to think that my Momtas suffered greatly in her last, what appears to be her last moments. A lot of us were at the briefing with Chief Lugo yesterday, and I can tell you those types of details, rightly so, were not shared. So I don't think we understood the depth of evidence that was retrieved out of that residence. But with that being said, I think there's a sense of confidence that we know that there is one charge that is grounded in evidence, and likely higher charges will come as a result of that investigation.

[Kendall Rae]

So then the following day, her supporters gathered once again for an evening of prayer and reflection. Something that happened often and really, you know, showed the strength of their community. Their fight for justice has been unwavering, and law enforcement has actually thanked them for keeping the pressure on. Now, this event actually took place at signal hill park, which was very close to momta's heart. It was just down the road from her house, and it's where she often went with her daughter. So having this here was not only a way to honor momta, but also a way for them to feel close to her. Now, jumping forward a few days, Naresh's bond hearing hearing ended up happening pretty soon after his arraignment. On Monday the 26th, he was back in court. And we learned a lot from this hearing as well. So buckle up, because there's quite a bit to go over here. For starters, because this was a bond hearing, the prosecution and defense took turns arguing why naresh should or shouldn't be granted bail. The prosecution was quick to say that naresh was a flight risk and danger to society, pointing out all the strange things he did after she went missing. And as for the defense, once again, they argued the opposite, of course, force. Naresh's attorney defended his actions after momta went missing, such as the fact that he sold his tesla and tried to sell his house. The prosecution made it sound like he was, you know, doing what we talked about earlier, trying to either hide evidence or to get money to flee. But the defense, of course, said, no, no, no, You've got it all wrong. He did it because he's poor and he needed this money to take care of his daughter. And then another thing that the defense pointed out out is that it wouldn't make sense for naresh to flee to nepal because of extradition treaties. He would have just been sent right back to the u. S. But ultimately, and thankfully, the judge did side with the prosecution and didn't grant him bail. This episode of true crime with kendall ray is brought to you by progressive insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are all things that people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to progressive and save hundreds because progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. Geico's motorcycle expertise gives me the coverage I need. Like 24.7claims, I'm on cloud nine.

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[Kendall Rae]

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[Kendall Rae]

However, there are quite a few other things that did come out during this hearing as well, and I don't want to skip over them, so stick with me. Let's go through that One of the biggest things that the defense took issue with was the fact that prosecutors hadn't turned over all their evidence, specifically the body cam footage from the welfare check, the clips that I have played earlier in the episode. Now, I'll explain more later on about why they wanted this so bad. But yeah, basically the defense was upset they didn't have that yet. And then they were also upset about the blood evidence that the prosecution was claiming investigators found inside the house. If you remember, the prosecutors were saying that a very large amount of blood was found in the room, yet the defense was arguing that it was only about the amount of a nosebleed, which is obviously a major discrepancy. And so basically the defense was arguing that the prosecutors only shared three images with them from inside the room, and in those images you could only see small droplets of blood, hence their argument that it was equivalent to that of a nosebleed. However, the prosecution explained that those images didn't reflect all the blood they found. That was just the blood you could see with the naked eye. The pooling of blood and the drag marks were only visible through that blue star technology, which I also need to mention. It can't tell you who the blood belongs to, obviously, just that the blood is there. And during this hearing we learned for the first time that it did in fact test presumptive positive for blood, which obviously was a big win for the prosecution, because now the defense's argument of there wasn't that much blood just went out the window and it wasn't just that pink stain on the carpet that they tested. They also tested the bathtub shower and even a window blind that was stuffed in the closet, which also came back back presumptive positive. But even if this was all blood, the defense kept saying that without a body, they don't have enough probable cause to justify the charge of concealing a dead body. He even said that the only reason an arrest was made in the first place was because the chief felt pressure from the, quote, media frenzy. And all of that was just a summary of the defense's arguments. So now we gotta go over what the prosecution had to say, and here's what we learned. It turns out that on August 6, Naresh had one of his many interviews with the police, and apparently he told them that Momta's documents were missing, including her green card. But according to prosecutors, her green card had been missing since June. So if this had been some kind of attempt on his part to prove that she left on her own, it didn't really hold up. And Naresh also told police during one of his interviews that he was working on sending his daughter back to Nepal, which is odd, considering that he said he needed to sell his car home to be able to afford to take care of her. And then another big revelation from this hearing was that Nares told a big fat lie in his original story. Remember how he said that Mamta went to either Texas or New York to be with her sister? Well, turns out she doesn't have any family in the United States, so there is no sister. And we also learned more about Mamta's phone record, which just continues to disprove what Naresh had said. It turns out out that her phone placed a call to naresh's phone on August 3rd. And if you're confused, you're not alone. In the Friday hearing, we learned that it Last pinged on August 1st, and now we're hearing a call was placed on August 3rd. Super, super confusing. And I don't know too much about this, but I will say that both data points go against what Naresh said about mom to destroying her phone on the 31st, either way. So as for his phone record, we learned that his phone was turned off for two hours on August 1 during the time he said that he was at that cafe. And what's interesting is he was able to provide a receipt to prove that he was there. Like some sort of alibi, I guess. And it didn't end up helping his case. But I'll explain that more later on. And guys, I know this case is so confusing and I'm throwing a whole lot of information with you, but we do have two big things to go over, so stick with me. Remember those cleaning supplies that I told you he got from Walmart? Well, we learned in this hearing that when investigators searched the home, the bottles were nearly empty, which made sense considering the carpet looked like someone had tried to scrub it clean. We also learned that Naresh bought some of those, you know, little tree shaped car air freshener things. And I'd be curious to know what smell he was trying to get rid of, although I'm pretty sure I know what it was. And lastly, there was one final big piece of information shared and I don't think anyone saw this coming. It turns out that the US Secret Service Chris had been monitoring Naresh's government issued work laptop and just listen to what he was googling back in April. How long does take to get married after spouse dies? And what happened to debt died spouse? And those searches were done three months before Momta went missing. And I'm sorry, you just cannot tell me that that's not premeditation. And like we know, luckily the judge sided with the prosecution and denied his bond. Now by this point, Momta's family still wasn't in the US but the emergency visas had been granted so they were working on to Virginia as quickly as possible. And they were and are suspicious of foul play. It's really the only reasonable explanation in their minds and I'm sure in all of our minds. Right. So getting justice is a must.

[Geeta Coughle]

My daughter was a very hard working, very sincere person, very honest person.

[Reporter]

Gita Coughle fought back tears as she spoke about her daughter, Momta Coughle.

[Geeta Coughle]

So I would talk to her every day, once or twice.

[Reporter]

Her son and Mamta's brother Mahesh Kathle by her side Monday night as she shared how she last spoke with her daughter on July 29th.

[Geeta Coughle]

She would always talk to me only about good things.

[Naresh Bhatt]

We even don't imagine about the things that happen.

[Reporter]

Her brother Mahesh and her mother in the US from Nepal on an emergency visa, now caring for Mamta's one year old daughter.

[Geeta Coughle]

I'd like to say thank you to everybody. So all the people here in US has really, really helped me. Mamta might get justice because of that. My heart is hurt because she was a person who was very hard working, very beautiful, very honest. She aspired to be somebody great. She worked really hard for it and she could be, I don't know what to say. But every time I. Because I can never forget her. But whenever I think about it, I.

[Kendall Rae]

Have my heartache Now. Police returned to the bot residence for another search just one day after the bond hearing. And while they did report finding evidence, it hasn't yet been shared what it was. And they were working against the clock, because once someone is charged with a crime, you only have have a certain amount of time before it has to go to trial. And in Virginia, it's only five months. And it quickly became clear that the defense's strategy was to move this along as fast as they could in hopes that new evidence wouldn't be found. Because as soon as they found her body, their whole argument that momta ran away just goes right out the window. So they really just pushed to get things moving, including waving Naresh's right to a preliminary hearing, which moved up the timeline pretty significantly.

[Naresh Bhatt]

And.

[Kendall Rae]

And if they were gonna be speedy, investigators needed to match that pace. So the next day, there was another massive search effort in Signal Hill Park. It was reported that potential evidence was located, but we don't know what was found or if it ended up being important. And then they were right back in court a few days later, where Naresh's attorney filed another motion. And this one waived his right to a grand jury. And ultimately the judge granted that. So that meant the trial was going to be happening even sooner than before. Now, by this point, momta's mom and brother had made it to the US and through a spokesperson, they expressed their gratitude for the efforts that had been done so far, and those efforts were in full swing. On September 13, Naresh was back in court for a hearing to discuss a Brady motion filed by the defense, which is basically a rule that says the prosecution has to turn over any evidence that's favorable to the accused. And the defense believed that the prosecution had several things that were favorable to Naresh's innocence. Innocence including footage from a surveillance video that was taken of momta a few days before she disappeared. So remember how I told you guys the last time that she was seen was on July 27th at work? Well, video footage from outside the hospital that night shows momta sitting with a friend. And then at around 8:17pm she can be seen getting into a black four door sedan. And as I've also already mentioned, Uber was her main form of transportation. But they don't believe that this car was an Uber. Momta's Uber records show that around the time that she got into that car, she canceled the ride that she had previously requested. And the defense said that handing over this video was vital because they believed this driver was somehow connected to her disappearance. Now, I know what you're probably thinking. This footage is from the 27th, but we know that momta had contact with people until the 29th, right? And you're absolutely right, she did. So there's no denying that this car brought her home that night. But what's strange, though, is nobody has come forward to say that they were the one who picked her up. And so the defense argued that this person either helped mom to escape or they were responsible for her disappearance, which is why they wanted access to that footage. They also wanted access to the cell phone and gps data, Unredacted versions of the police report, and the body cam footage from their welfare check. And I said earlier that I'd explain why they wanted that footage so badly. So let me explain. One of of the biggest things the defense was trying to push back on was the idea that naresh refused to report his wife missing because both prosecutors and the media were making it seem that way. And while there's definitely some truth to that, I would say refusing isn't the most accurate word. The reality is those officers didn't push him to file a report in the first place. And if you remember, they told Naresh just to call them if she didn't come home by Sunday.

[Police Officer]

Okay, well, if. If she does end up missing, just call us back. You have my number. Just shoot me a text if you want. Just give me. Let me know if she comes back.

[Naresh Bhatt]

So, you know, hopefully, she will be back by Sunday.

[Kendall Rae]

And two days later, he did end up reaching out to the officer to let him know that she never came back, which, of course, we know her family pressured him to do that, but still, he did file a report. So, of course, the defense wanted the footage released to them because it disproved the idea that he refused to file it. His attorney also asked for the text exchange between Naresh and the officer from August 4 to be handed over, because it also proved that he did try to report her missing that evening. And that was something that the judge agreed needed to be handed over. All of this was due on September 16, which was also when the next hearing was scheduled. And this hearing was going to determine when the trial would begin, which, to a lot of people's surprise, the judge ended up siding with the defense. Despite the prosecution pushing for a start date in late January, the judge ruled that it would begin on December 9th. Before that, though, there was a second bond hearing and from that we up learning a lot and I know we have been over so much information so I'll try to keep it as brief as I can without leaving out any major details. This episode of True Crime with Kendall Ray is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are all things that people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home and more. Plus you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive Casualty Insurance company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations.

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I just meant that I feel really.

[Kendall Rae]

Good about my coverage.

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[Kendall Rae]

Basically, the defense wanted this hearing because they didn't think the prosecution had enough evidence to keep Naresh behind bars, and they now had a very specific argument as to why. Remember when I explained that there was evidence of a body being dragged from the bedroom to the bathroom? Well, when the officer was writing up the report, she said that there was evidence that a body was dragged out of the house. So very different, right? Here's what it says. There was evidence in the residence indicating the body was inside the residence and dragged out out of the residence. But that's not technically true. The drag marks were only inside of the house. And this particular sentence was a big reason why the judge even granted an arrest warrant in the first place. So of course the defense said that Nares should be released, considering the warrant was based on, quote, false statements. But the prosecution was quick to defend this officer. They explained that she had just worked 30 hours straight, so she was exhausted, which led to her poor choice of words. Obviously it was a big mistake, but they were adamant that there was no malicious intent behind it. But to counter that, the defense brought up a statement that was made by one of the prosecutors back on August 22nd. That day, Commonwealth attorney Amy ashworth told the news that she didn't know if momta was dead or alive. Now, considering they had just charged naresh with concealing a dead body that day, this statement was contradictory. And so the defense used it to say, hey, look, you can't keep my client in jail, jail on these charges if you don't even know that momta is dead. And he also tried to say that you can't accuse someone of concealing a body if you don't have a body or body parts to prove it. To which the judge was like, no, actually, you can do that. So that was quickly shut down. Then his attorney tried to poke holes in the blue star technology and downplaying the fact that naresh bought these knives at walmart. And honestly, we'd be here forever if I went through it all line by line. But I think you guys get the picture. Plus, the prosecution revealed so much valuable evidence, and I think you would be much interested in hearing about that instead. So, for starters, they began playing the entire body cam footage from the welfare check to point out the parts of naresh's story that didn't line up. And at one point, the prosecutor even said that momta didn't run away. She was killed by her husband and then disposed of. And they believe that based on the evidence that I'm about to share with you. And I just want to warn you, it's very, very disturbing, and it's just kind of a lot. All right, so this information all came from a ton of search warrants. And the way prosecut explained it was by going through an updated timeline of the case. And I think that would be the most effective way for me to explain it, too. So let's go through the timeline once again. Updated timeline. Starting with July 24, Mom to spoke about her troubled marriage with a childhood friend. Then on the 27th, we know that she was last seen at work. Next, on the 28th, we learned that nares spent most of that day in Baltimore. Meanwhile, momta was home at 6.05pm she had sent a facebook message to someone who she had purchased jewelry from. And then at 8:25 in 8:58pm she attempted to call Naresh. And it doesn't sound like she was able to reach him, but he came back from Baltimore a couple hours later at around 12:29am which would make it the 29th. Then, on that day, Naresh and mamta were mostly home. And at 8:30pm she spoke with her mom for 14 minutes. Via a Facebook video call, Geeta says that her daughter had a gloomy face which she had never seen before. And after this, Momta is never heard from again. And this is where things get really bad. Okay? In the early morning hours of July 30, Naresh made two Google searches. One at 4:13am and then one again at 4:30am and those searches read diagram of a brain and chicken farm near me. Then at 5:30am he sends a text to their babysitter asking to drop their daughter off sometime after 8:30. However, he ends up taking her there at 6:30am instead. Then at 6:44, Naresh is captured on surveillance video disposing of trash bags in a dumpster near the babysitter's apartment complex. Then he returns home, but by 8:12am he's at a Home Depot where he can be seen buying two pairs of rubber gloves. And at 8:41, he's captured at Walmart buying those knives that I told you about. Then there's a bit of a lull, but it picks back up again at 3:45pm that's when he goes back to get his daughter. But what's interesting is he parks by that same dumpster again. And to be clear, this dumpster isn't anywhere near the babysitter's actual unit. So parking working there just made no sense. Then he picks up his daughter. And lastly at 5:22pm he goes to another store where he purchases a 40 pack of extra strength black trash bags. And that's just the information we learned about the 30th, but we also learned a lot about the 31st. Starting at 1:30am a surveillance video captured Naresh in the town of Falls Church wearing white gloves and pulling trash bags out of the back of his Tesla. And then he's seen throwing those trash bags into a trash compact actor and it's mentioned that one of those bags looked heavy. Now, he does have an apartment that he rents out in this area, but those tenants later told police that they didn't see him that night, which of course makes you wonder what the was he doing there and why did he leave his phone back at home? That's right. Prosecutors said that his phone wasn't with him, which they believe he did to try and conceal his location. Then later that morning at 8am Naresh dropped his daughter back off at the babysitter's apartment. And she later told officers that he seemed nervous each time he came by. Then after this, he's seen slowly driving past the same dumpster from the day before. But this time he doesn't stop. Instead, he went home, where he used a whopping 150 gallons of water between 11am and 12pm that is a shit ton of water. That's actually 50 times more water than they typically used on an hourly basis. And then between 1 and 2pm, three license plate readers picked up Naresh driving around Fairfax, Virginia, where it's believed he was disposing of more bags into dumpsters. And then we have him at Walmart at 2pm Buying those cleaning supplies that I've already mentioned. After that, at 5:30, he goes back to the same dumpster at the babysitter's apartment where he throws another two bags away. But he doesn't actually go in and pick up his daughter. He leaves and then comes back to pick her up around 7. And then we have August 1. Now, Naresh's phone was shut off that day, but if you remember from earlier, he admitted to going to a local cafe, which as we know, was in the same area where Momta's phone last pinged. Well, investigators went to that cafe and they found surveillance footage from a nearby gas station that showed Naresh walking into the cafe with a noticeable limp. After he eats and comes outside, he can be seen picking up yet another bag from his car. And they say that he picked it up with either a napkin or like a piece of paper, something like that. Probably because he didn't want get his fingerprints on it. And then get this, this dummy then goes to one of those donation bins, you know, those little, I think they're normally blue bins. I see them all around town and they're just for, you know, clothing, donation, shoes, things like that. He puts the bag into one of those. Now, luckily, law enforcement was able to retrieve it. And inside the bag was a bath mat with pinkish brown stains on it, which tested presumptive positive for blood. Insane. And the prosecutor wasn't even done there. This was clearly a very big hearing with lots of big bombs being dropped. And I haven't explained this yet, but Naresh and Mamta actually had two tenants, a Colombian couple living in the basement part of their house. And we learned that after the welfare check was performed, Nares went down there and asked them to help him move his bed. The same bed that was covering that scrubbed up blood stain on the carpet. Now, unfortunately, prosecutors still didn't have the DNA results back from the blood that they had found in the house. They of course knew that it was blood from that Blue Star testing, But they needed the lab results to confirm that it belonged to Momta. And they also revealed some new information about Naresh's Tesla, which, as we know, he sold it on August 19th. But what we didn't know was that this was one day after police asked for consent to search it. It was also revealed that he had disabled its tracking data, which was something that a lot of people were very worried about. And if there was anything else in the car, like blood or DNA, DNA that has not been shared at this point, then there was a lot of talk about domestic violence, and it painted a very disturbing picture of what was going on in their relationship leading up to her disappearance. And the last thing I'll share, because I know this is a lot of information to process and it's probably getting really confusing, but there were even more Google searches found, and these were from February, including uncontested divorce time, uncontested divorce, joint bank account, and what happens if spouse disappears in Virginia. Now, you may have forgotten since I have been going over a ton of evidence here, but this was actually a bond hearing. So all the stuff that we just went over was just the prosecution's way of saying, this man should not be out on bond. And once again, the judge agreed. However, the defense still tried to get the arrest warrant thrown out. So they were back in court again on October 10, or at least they tried to go to court that day. For all these hearings that I've been telling you about, Naresh had a Nepalese interpreter. And So I guess one wasn't available for October 10th, so it got pushed back to November 7th. But I'll spare you the details and just tell you now that the defense ended up withdrawing their motion. Now, in the midst of all of this, another community gathering took place, and it was a very emotional evening. They held the vigil at Signal Hill park pavilion and spent a lot of time raising awareness about domestic violence. Survivors stood up and spoke. DV awareness organization showed up, and even members from the Manassas park police department were there to show their support, which I thought was really, really cool. And you don't see that often. And honest, at this point, people were upset that Nares hadn't been charged with murder. And fundamentally, I think people understood that these things take time. But not having that charge was just tough, especially given all the evidence that people knew about thus far. However, on December 2, 2024, it finally happened. Naresh Bhatt was charged with first degree murder as well as physically defiling a body. It was a long time coming. But the holdup essentially came down to the blood. Blood evidence. Before charging him with murder, they needed to make sure that the blood in the house was Momta's, and that took time. In a press conference, Chief Lugo said that they believed Momta was deceased from the very beginning and that Naresh dismembered her in order to get rid of the evidence. He also shared that this was the worst crime scene their police department and forensic unit had ever seen. And as for mom to supporters, Holly shared that this wasn't a celebration by any means, but there definitely was a sense of relief followed by a bit of frustration when they found out that his trial was being postponed. Because basically, instead of having one trial for the concealment charge and then another for the murder charge, the judge said, let's just do it all at once at a later date. And right now the start date is set for September 8th of 2025. So we've got quite a bit of time to go. The defense has asked for there to be three interpreters in the courtroom for Naresh, which will likely be granted. But experts have question mentioned if the defense will later try and say that Naresh doesn't speak English well enough to understand what he's being asked and therefore try to get everything thrown out. Hopefully not, but I wouldn't be surprised. Oh, and also, sometime in March, it will be determined whether or not the trial will be televised. So that decision may have already been made. I don't know when that's going to happen. And if a decision has been made on that, I will of course leave a pinned comment or put something in the description box. And also the show notes, if you are listening to this episode on Spotify or Apple podcasts, and there is one final, very disturbing piece of evidence that was announced after all of this came out. And again, I just have to warn you, it's. I don't even. It's so disturbing. So it turns out that DNA testing linked Momta to blood found on a reciprocating saw, which, if you watched my recent episode on the disappearance of Suzanne Simpson, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. It's like a mechanical saw that can be used to cut through some very tough material. And again, just like I said in Suzanne's episode, I don't think I need to paint that picture for you. I'm sorry I even have to put that thought in your mind. It is beyond words, horrific and disgusting, and it's just so upsetting. Following this, there Was one hearing at the end of December and it was pretty standard. The prosecution wants to admit the DNA evidence into the trial and they also want to admit some of the interviews that Naresh gave to reporters. Basically, they believe that showing the jury these videos will allow them to see how Naresh was changing his story. And finally, on January 14th, the officers who worked countless hours on this case were honored by the Nepali community. The Nepali topi is a traditional hat often worn by men during celebrations. And it is a symbol of honor and respect. And that day, to thank them for their efforts, community members place topi on the heads of officers to symbolize their gratitude. I just thought that was so beautiful. The way that law enforcement and this community came together and supported each other is so, so rare. We almost never see that. I wish we saw it more often, but it was just so uplifting to see how this all played out and just the overwhelming amount, amount of love and appreciation and support through it all and the fact that law enforcement took this case so seriously was just incredible to see and it should always be that way. But again, oftentimes we don't see that. At least in the cases that I report that need coverage. You know, we often see pretty disappointing efforts from law enforcement. Not all the time. Sometimes we see excellent, excellent investigative work being done. But just this true support, we don't see that very often. You know, it's just. It was really awesome and very uplifting to see this in a case that is so dark, so upsetting, so brutal and yeah, I just, I loved hearing about this part of this case. Now they've executed more than 40 search warrants and hundreds of hours of interviews have been conducted. And it blows my mind and just breaks my heart that they still haven't found her. But I have to believe that one day soon they will. At least I hope so. And if you're wondering about Naresh's family, it doesn't sound like they've shown up to help at all. And given what has been alleged about his mom, I guess I'm not entirely shocked. And of course innocent till proven guilty. But I don't need him to be convicted to say with confidence that Nares is a piece of shit. He's an abusive, manipulative, low vibrational, garbage, worthless human being that is the only one that belongs in the trash. What he did to Mamta before she even decided disappeared says everything we need to know about the type of man that he is. And I'm curious to see what the jury has to say about him too. I'm also curious and concerned, wondering if he's going to strike up some kind of deal. But right now, I haven't heard anything about that. So let's just cross our fingers nothing like that happens. If there doesn't end up being a plea deal. And I really, really hope there is not one. I will definitely be following this trial closely. So let me know if you would like additional coverage on that in September when it happens. Hopefully, unless it's delayed. But overall, I'm just so horrified and angry by all of the details that we now know and just devastated for Momta's family and for her daughter. Oh, my God. The fact that she didn't even get to be in her daughter's life for the first year is so upsetting. Her daughter will never get the chance to grow up with her mom, never get the chance to know her beyond what her family is able to tell her. And again, she is in the extremely good care of Momta's family. But still, the dreams that Momta had of raising her baby girl were stolen from her. And I know I always say this in cases where someone kills their spouse when they have children, but how evil do you have to be to do that? Not only to your wife who birthed your child, but also to that child? Like, oh my God, there are no words. I think we can all agree that there's just no world where Momta ran away. Okay? That did not happen. And I just hope that justice is served and the law comes down as hard as possible and that happens very soon. I also just wanted to send a message here to Momta's friends and family and I hope this makes it to them. But I would be more than happy to make sure that you guys get a HOPE grant through my foundation, Higher Hope. And if you are interested, please reach out to us. We will try to contact you as well. But we will make sure that if you are in any type of financial need after all this, which I'm sure is likely the case, we would be happy to help. I know this one was really long, guys. I'm sure it was very confusing, hard to follow, and just beyond upsetting. But if you stuck with me for the entire thing, thank you. I really believe that mom to story needs to be heard and she deserves for people to know what she went through and to know what a beautiful woman she was and person, what a smart person that she was and just so loved by so many people. Just seeing how many people in the community came out for her. People that didn't even know her. The fact that she had such an impact on her co workers after not working there for very long tells you everything that you need to know about her. What a massive loss to society. Just hold Horrible. That is going to be it for me today. Guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel which will be linked. Or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.