Naresh Bhatt pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and physical defilement of a dead body, InsideNoVa reports.
No body has been found. Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a Manassas Park nurse and mother, was last heard from on July 29, 2024. She is presumed dead.
Judge Kimberly A. Irving accepted the pleas and said they were made freely and voluntarily. She denied a defense continuance and denied Bhatt’s request that she step off the case.
“I’m being compelled to stand trial,” Bhatt told Irving.
Chief Public Defender Tracey Lenox and Assistant Public Defender Laurel Rodewald represent him. Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Matthew Sweet, Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Sarah Sami, and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Katherine Williams are for the commonwealth. Jury selection is underway. The trial is expected to run for weeks. Mamta’s mother, Gita Kafle, and brother, Mahesh Kafle, were in court with a Nepalese interpreter.
