According to court documents, Mamta Kafle Bhatt's husband is accused of killing her in their home

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CNN
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The husband of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old Virginia mother who has been missing for more than three weeks, is accused of killing her in her home and dragging her body outside, according to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WJLA.

Naresh Bhatt is charged with violating the prohibition of concealing bodies, according to court records. He was taken away in handcuffs on Thursday after authorities obtained a search warrant for the couple's home. Bhatt appeared in court Friday morning for arraignment.

He has not been officially charged with murder, but the preliminary criminal complaint obtained by WJLA states: “On or about July 30, 2024, the defendant Naresh Bhatt murdered his wife, Mamta Bhatt.”

CNN has contacted the public defender's office representing Naresh Bhatt.

“There was evidence in the house indicating that the body was inside the house and was dragged out of the house,” says a handwritten addendum to the statement, apparently signed with the initials of the accusing police officer.

“During the course of this investigation, numerous digital and forensic pieces of evidence were recovered that are related to her death,” the complaint states.

CNN has asked prosecutors for comment on whether Bhatt now faces more serious charges as a result of the murder accusation. made by the official.

During Friday's arraignment, the judge did not change the conditions of his bail, and Bhatt remains held without bail, according to WJLA. Bhatt is scheduled to appear in court Monday morning for a bail hearing, online court records show.

Bhatt is a former U.S. Army Reserve automated logistics specialist who served from June 2017 to February 2024, Army spokeswoman Heather Hagan told CNN on Friday. He did not serve in combat and left the Army with the rank of specialist, she said.

The Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office released details of what investigators found when they executed a search warrant at the couple's home during Friday's arraignment.

According to WJLA, investigators said Bhatt made a series of conflicting statements about his wife's whereabouts and claimed that she destroyed her own cellphone before her disappearance.

On July 30, investigators said Bhatt was seen at a Walmart, where he purchased a package containing three knives. Two of them were missing after the search warrant was served, according to WJLA. A day later, he was seen at another Walmart location, where he purchased cleaning supplies.

After investigators reviewed their search warrant in full, they found what appeared to be pools of blood and blood splatter in the home's master bedroom. The bed appeared to have been moved and was blocking a closet. Light pink stains were found on the bedroom carpet after the bed was moved. Pools of blood were found in the bathroom, “as if something had been dragged across the floor,” and there were pools of blood on the shower floor, WJLA reported Friday's arraignment.

When investigators removed the bathtub, they discovered what they believed to be blood in the caulk, WJLA reported.

Numerous cleaning supplies purchased by Bhatt were also found in the house, which police said appeared to be in a neglected state at the time of the indictment, according to the WJLA.

In addition, Bhatt sold his Tesla on August 19 and the house appeared to be already packed, a suitcase was ready, items on hangers were missing upon entering the house and passports were available, WJLA reported.

“We are all in shock,” a former colleague of Kafle Bhatt told reporters after the indictment on Friday. “The details that have come to light are even more horrific than I expected.”

According to police, Kafle Bhatt was last seen on July 27 at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas. She worked there as a registered nurse in the medical surgical department, the center told CNN on Friday. On July 28, she spoke with a friend, and on July 31, her husband last saw her at dinner, he previously told police.

On August 2, police conducted a health check at the couple’s home and spoke with her husband, who “provided additional information” and told investigators He did not want to report her missing at the time, police said. However, he reported her three days later, authorities said in an Aug. 15 press release.

The request for the health check came from Kafle Bhatts work colleagues, reported CNN affiliate WUSA.

“UVA Health is deeply saddened by the devastating news that Mamta Kafle Bhatt has presumed deceased,” Eric Swensen, spokesman for UVA Health Prince William Medical Center, said in a statement to CNN on Friday. “First and foremost, we extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to Mamta's family, friends and colleagues, and we mourn together with our community and all who knew Mamta.”

“UVA Health has cooperated with the police investigation from the beginning and we will continue to work with police investigators to assist them in their efforts to the best of our ability,” the statement continued.

Detectives conducted extensive investigations from August 5 to 8 and found that there had been a significant lack of contact between Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer and on social media recently, so they upgraded her missing person status to involuntary/critical missing person status.

For weeks, community members, colleagues and friends searched for Kafle Bhatt, seeking information about her whereabouts while sharing each update on Facebook group pages and GoFundMe accounts set up by friends.

Investigators executed 10 search warrants and conducted “hundreds of interviews related to this case,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said Wednesday evening as a search warrant for the Bhatts' property was being processed.

Asked if there was a “person of interest” in Kafle Bhatt's disappearance, Lugo said Wednesday that her husband “was a point of interest and everyone knows that.” She added that he has not cooperated with police. This differs from the department's initial press release on Aug. 15, which said, “Her husband, friends and colleagues have cooperated throughout the investigation and detectives will continue to follow all investigative leads to locate Mamta Kafle.”

In an interview with WUSA last week, Bhatt said he was concerned about his wife's whereabouts and that this was not the first time she had disappeared.

“I'm the one who's suffering,” he told WUSA. “She's the mother of my baby. She's my wife. I'm the one who's suffering, so I don't know what to say.”

As a video from Thursday shows, the couple's baby was taken out of the house under a yellow blanket. According to police, the baby is currently being cared for by a caregiver approved by the social welfare office.

Kafle Bhatt's family, who live in Nepal, have received visas and are currently traveling to the United States to seek temporary custody of the baby, Bandita Sharma Dhal, an immigration attorney working with the family, told CNN on Friday.

This story has been updated with additional information.