MANASSAS PARK, Va. — It's now been more than a month since Mamta Kafle Bhatt was last seen.
Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, has been charged with concealing a dead body. Police believe he killed his wife, but he has not been charged with murder.
He is scheduled to be in court Thursday morning. According to court records, Bhatt is expected to waive his right to a grand jury. His defense attorney filed a motion Tuesday asking to waive the grand jury.
A judge decided last week to waive Naresh Bhatt's preliminary hearing for the single felony count he's facing for concealing a dead body. Throughout the proceedings, Bhatt's defense attorney has insisted that the evidence presented by prosecutors is weak, particularly because Naresh Bhatt is facing a single charge of concealing a dead body, and Mamta's body has not been found.
Lawyers WUSA9 spoke with say Naresh Bhatt's public defender is trying to speed up this case so it heads to trial quicker. The hearing was scheduled for Oct. 24. In it, prosecutors would lay out all the evidence that they have against Naresh Bhatt.
"Time is of the essence, and I think the public defender was really smart to try to speed things up," Virginia-based lawyer Pierre Priale told WUSA9.
If a judge grants the request to waive the grand jury hearing Thursday, the case would go directly to trial. Legal analysts say the odds are stacked against the prosecution, so the faster a case moves, the more pressure law enforcement is under to find additional evidence.
On Friday, investigators searched Signal Hill Park. The park is less than a mile from the couple's Manassas Park home.
"It's hard in some ways to believe it's been a month," said Holly Wirth. She's been part of the effort to get justice for Mamta.
Wednesday night, a group wearing 'Justice for Mamta' pins gathered outside the Manassas Park Police Department.
"We're not going to give up," said Bina Khadkalama.
"We're gonna keep doing what we're doing because at the end of the day somebody knows something," added Wirth.
Mamta was last seen at UVA Health Health Prince William Medical Center on July 27 and spoke to a friend on the phone on July 28, according to police. She wasn't reported missing by her husband, Naresh Bhatt, until Aug. 5.
In an interview with WUSA9, he said they ate dinner together the night of July 31.
"It was the evening of the Wednesday we were here and ate together," said Naresh Bhatt.
He told WUSA9 that she didn't say anything about leaving, and that he didn't know where she was.
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Police say he told investigators that his wife was with family in New York or Texas and that they were in the process of separating.
Naresh Bhatt, 37, was arrested on August 22 by Manassas Park Police and charged with a single class six felony count for concealing a dead body.