The husband of a missing Virginia mother is accused of killing her in her home and then dragging her body outside, court documents show

Editor's Note: This story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.

A week after Naresh Bhatt told reporters he was “suffering” while authorities searched for his missing Virginia wife, he appeared before a judge Friday morning to face charges that he killed her in their shared home in late July and dragged her body outside.

Naresh Bhatt has not been formally charged with murder in connection with the alleged killing of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old mother of two, according to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WJLA. He faces a charge of failing to conceal a body and was taken away in handcuffs on Thursday after authorities executed a search warrant for the couple's home.

In an interview with WUSA last week, Bhatt said he was concerned about his wife's whereabouts and that it 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.”

Bhatt was in court Friday morning for arraignment. 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 reached out to prosecutors for comment on whether Bhatt will face more serious charges based on the police's murder allegations.

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 was not deployed and left the Army with the rank of specialist, she said.

Here is a timeline of what we know about the investigation and the disappearance of Mamta Bhatt:

July 27

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.

July 28

According to CNN affiliate WJLA, Mamta Bhatt last spoke to a friend on July 28, the same day she posted a final video of herself and her daughter on her TikTok account.

“The last time I heard from her in person was July 28th. She called me a couple of times, but I was asleep. And I got a call from someone I met at Mamta's baby shower and she asked me if I knew where Mamta was,” Mamta's former roommate Nadia Navarro said, according to WUSA.

“Mamta is not an impulsive person, she is a very responsible person, she is a very calm person, so when I hear that she may be missing, I really doubt that she would run away,” Navarro continued.

July 30

The criminal complaint states that Naresh Bhatt murdered his wife “on or about” July 30 in their Manassas Park home.

Investigators say Bhatt was seen at a Walmart on July 30, 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.

July 31

Naresh Bhatt told investigators in a later interview that he last saw his wife on July 31.

2 August

Police went to the couple's home on August 2 after their colleagues from UVA Health Prince William Medical Center stopped by for a wellness check on August 1. Officers said Kafle Bhatt works two days a week at the hospital and was scheduled to work on August 1 and 2, but became concerned when she neither called nor showed up for work.

When police spoke to Bhatt, he “provided additional information” and told investigators he did not want to report her missing at that time, police said.

The request for a health check came from Kafle Bhatt's work colleagues, reported CNN partner WUSA.

5 to 8 August

Three days after the police welfare check, Bhatt reported his wife missing and told police he last saw her at dinner on July 31. He said he had not seen her since and has stopped cooperating with investigators, according to Manassas Park police.

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.

14 August

In an interview with WUSA on August 14, Bhatt said he had dinner with Kafle Bhatt on July 31 when he last saw her. “It's really tough,” he said.

“We had dinner on Wednesday night. She was the one who cooked and did the kitchen work. We didn't have any special conversations. We didn't have any arguments or anything like that,” Bhatt said.

Bhatt said his wife, whom he has been married to for three years, is “a special person” who is “caring and loving.” She had disappeared three times before, he said, but never for such a long period of time.

“She didn't come back and I just searched everywhere. The next day the police came and told me she wasn't at work and I was very serious because she's the one who would never leave work,” he said, according to WUSA.

In an interview with WUSA, Bhatt shared a message with his wife: “Hey, just come back. I am myself and my baby, we are waiting every second, every minute. If you are listening, we are here waiting for you. We need you,” he said.

15.August

The Manassas Park Police Department has issued a press release asking for the public's help in locating Mamta Kafle, providing details about the August 2 wellness check at the couple's home and the subsequent missing person report filed by Kafle Bhatt.

“In investigating the incident, officers initially concluded that Mamta's disappearance did not meet the Virginia State Police criteria for more than one missing person,” the press release said.

“Officers then followed standard procedures and Mamta was reported missing to the Virginia State Police, which maintains the statewide missing persons list, and detectives then further investigated her disappearance.”

The state police then distributed the list to all law enforcement agencies in Virginia and other U.S. states, asking them to assist in locating Kafle Bhatt.

Detectives have assessed Kafle Bhatt's missing status and classified her as involuntary/critically missing after determining that there has been a significant recent lack of contact between Kafle Bhatt and her family, friends, employer, and on social media.

21 August

The couple's home was searched by detectives on August 21, police said, but no further details were given at the time about the evidence that led to Bhatt's arrest.

Investigators executed 10 search warrants and conducted “hundreds of interviews related to this case,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said during a press conference the same day a search warrant was obtained for the Bhatt residence.

Asked whether there was a “person of interest” in connection with Kafle Bhatt's disappearance, Lugo said Wednesday that her husband “has been the center of interest and everyone knows that.”

The police chief said Bhatt has not cooperated with police, a departure from the department's original Aug. 15 press release, which said, “Her husband, friends and colleagues have cooperated throughout the investigation and detectives will continue to pursue all investigative leads to locate Mamta Kafle.”

22.08.

According to a video from CNN affiliate WJLA, Bhatt was taken away in handcuffs from outside the couple's home the next morning, August 22.

As a video shows, an infant was also carried out of the house under a yellow blanket. Police said the couple's little daughter was now being cared for by a caregiver approved by the social welfare office.

In an August 21 press release, Manassas Park Police Chief Lugo said, “I recognize and respect the public's need for answers. However, I assure you all that while these 'answers' are limited by the ongoing process, the investigation remains a top priority and our agency is committed to providing as many details as possible.”

Lugo also urged the community to “continue to provide any information that could help us in this investigation.”

23.August

Court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WJLA show that Kafle Bhatt is accused of murdering his wife, citing evidence “in the house that indicates the body was inside the house and was dragged out of the house,” according to a handwritten addendum to the statement that appears to bear 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.

During his arraignment on August 23, the judge did not change the conditions of Bhatt's bail, and he remains held without bail, according to WJLA. Bhatt is scheduled to appear in court for a bail hearing on August 26, online court records show.

The defense told the judge that Naresh does not have a violent past. His attorney noted that Naresh did not confess and argued that there was insufficient evidence of his guilt, WJLA reported.

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

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.

After investigators completed their search warrant, they found what appeared to be pools and splatters of blood in the home's master bedroom. The bed also appeared to have been moved so that it was blocking a closet. Light pink stains were also found on the bedroom carpet after the bed was moved, WJLA reported.

In addition, pools of blood were discovered in the bathroom, “as if something had been dragged across the floor,” and there were also pools of blood on the shower floor, WJLA reported of the arraignment on Friday.

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.

Authorities said Bhatt sold his Tesla on August 19 and the house appeared untidy, with the suitcase packed and items missing from hangers, WJLA reported.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the date of the first police wellness check at the family home, which took place on August 2.

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