MANASSAS, Va. — New charges against a Manassas Park man accused of murdering his wife, are changing the timeline of when he could face trial.
On Monday, a grand jury delivered two indictments against Naresh Bhatt charging him with first-degree murder and physically defiling a dead human body. He was already facing a single felony count of concealing a dead body for the disappearance of his wife Mamta Kafle Bhatt.
Naresh Bhatt was scheduled to appear in Prince William County Court Tuesday morning for an arraignment for the new charges. The arraignment was moved to Wednesday because a Nepalese interpreter was not available for Naresh Bhatt, who has used the service throughout his court proceedings.
A pretrial date was already scheduled on Wednesday as Naresh Bhatt was set to face trial next week for the first charge filed following his arrest in August.
The Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Amy Ashworth told reporters inside the courtroom, that the three charges may be consolidated with a single trial scheduled for next year.
On Wednesday, WUSA9 learned the trial is set to begin on Sept. 8, 2025. It will last 16 business days, wrapping up on Oct. 3.
A status hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2025, with pretrial beginning on Aug. 27, 2025.
The case against Naresh Bhatt was moving quickly, in part due to his public defender's efforts to speed up the process as investigators were still waiting on evidence.
It was the evidence that was found inside the couple's home that led to the harsher charges, according to Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo.
"I just know that whatever happened in the house, it was murder," Lugo said during a Monday night news conference. Lugo says DNA examination determined that the blood found in the Manassas Park home belonged to the 28-year-old mother and nurse.
Those who knew Mamta and domestic violence survivors who have been following this case had been waiting for additional charges to be levied against Naresh Bhatt, but now are struggling to process the gruesome details about what allegedly happened inside the home.
Bina Khadkalama, a Nepalese nurse, who has helped in the search efforts told reporters, "I am just imagining what she went through. What happened to her soul and body. Yesterday, when chief said that, you know, defiling, I was just imagining the knife going through my body."
Mamta's former colleague, Holy Wirth said that hearing the details about the investigation from Chief Lugo is still hard to grapple with.
"That's really hard to hear, and so we certainly ask for prayers for the family knowing that this is a moment of reckoning that we were hoping was coming, but now that it's here there's a lot of emotions around that," she said.
The public defender representing Naresh Bhatt has argued in the past that he will proceed as if Mamta is still alive because her body has not been found. He suggested that she might have left her home.
Naresh Bhatt is due back in Prince William County Court on Wednesday morning.