Reports of marital difficulties
The public picture of Mamta's marriage became more complicated after her disappearance.
In August 2024, members of her family told the media that they had concerns about how she was being treated at home. Her aunt, Maiya Kafle, alleged that tensions had developed after Naresh's mother came to the United States and that Mamta had not been treated properly during the period following childbirth.
These were allegations from family members, not findings established by a court at that time.
During the 2026 murder trial, Neupane testified that Mamta had told her about a domestic violence incident and had expressed concerns about possible infidelity. Neupane said Mamta had shown her a video of a bruise, but acknowledged during cross-examination that she had not personally witnessed Naresh hitting Mamta. Her account of the alleged incident was based on what Mamta had told her.
Neupane also testified that Mamta had stayed with her for more than two weeks after a disagreement with Naresh. According to testimony reported by NBC4 Washington and other media outlets, Mamta had discussed the possibility of divorce.
These accounts are significant to the timeline presented at trial, but they must be understood in context: some describe what witnesses personally observed, while others recount statements attributed to Mamta. Naresh has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him.
The last known contact
The final days of July 2024 marked the beginning of the mystery surrounding Mamta's disappearance.
According to reports, her mother last spoke with her through a video call on July 29, 2024. Mamta's phone and previously active social media accounts subsequently went quiet.
Trial reporting has placed Mamta at work at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center on July 27, 2024, the last time colleagues reported seeing her there. She was expected to work again at the beginning of August but did not report for her shift on August 1.
After Mamta missed work, colleagues became concerned and requested a police welfare check at the couple's home in Manassas Park on August 2.
According to accounts presented in court, Naresh initially told officers that he did not believe his wife was missing. He reportedly said the couple were separating and suggested she might have gone to visit family in New York or Texas. Investigators later learned that Mamta did not have biological family in the United States.
Naresh subsequently reported her missing on August 5, 2024. Authorities officially classified her as involuntarily missing that day.
For her relatives in Nepal, the silence was alarming. Her father had told the media that the family had no reliable information about her condition and did not know whether she was alive.
The investigation and Naresh Bhatt's arrest
Police intensified their investigation in August 2024. On August 21, investigators searched the couple's home, where they identified areas of suspected blood evidence in the bedroom and bathroom.
Naresh was arrested on August 22, 2024, initially facing a charge related to concealing a dead body. A grand jury subsequently indicted him on charges of first-degree murder and defiling a dead body in December 2024. The case also includes the charge of concealing a dead body.
Mamta's remains have never been recovered.
Prosecutors allege that Naresh killed Mamta around July 30, 2024, dismembered her body and disposed of the remains in garbage bags. These are the prosecution's allegations, which the defense disputes.
The evidence described in court includes forensic findings from the couple's home and a handheld power saw that was later handed to police by a landscaper. According to reports, forensic testing found that blood on the saw matched a DNA profile developed from Mamta's hairbrush. The reported statistical assessment placed the likelihood of an unrelated individual matching that profile at less than one in eight billion.
Prosecutors have also presented surveillance footage that they say shows Naresh disposing of bags at dumpsters after Mamta disappeared. Trial testimony has addressed his movements, phone records, vehicle data and the acquisition of items investigators consider relevant to the case.
The meaning and significance of each item of evidence remain matters for the jury to assess alongside the defense's arguments. The absence of Mamta's body is a central feature of the case.
A trial without Mamta's remains
Naresh's murder trial began in Prince William County Circuit Court in October 2026. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, and a jury was selected before testimony began.
Prosecutors have argued that the forensic evidence, surveillance recordings and other investigative findings establish that Mamta was killed and that Naresh was responsible. The defense has challenged the prosecution's interpretation of circumstantial evidence and argued that the case does not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The proceedings have included testimony from Mamta's mother, friends, former colleagues, investigators and other witnesses. Jurors have heard accounts of her life, her relationship with Naresh and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
As of October 25, 2026, the trial remains ongoing. The latest available reporting from October 21 described testimony concerning a saw turned over to police, surveillance footage of bags being discarded, and investigators' examination of phone and vehicle data. The court was expected to resume proceedings after the scheduled break.
The jury has not delivered a verdict in the reporting available for this article.
A family still waiting for answers
Mamta's disappearance left her daughter without her mother's known presence and forced relatives to confront uncertainty across continents. Her mother and other family members have sought answers while the investigation and court proceedings have unfolded in Virginia.
Her daughter is now being cared for by relatives, according to media reports covering the trial.
The case has also drawn sustained attention among Nepalis in the United States and in Nepal. Friends and community members have held gatherings to remember Mamta and keep public attention on the unresolved disappearance.
For her family, the central question remains unanswered: what happened to Mamta, and where are her remains?
The criminal trial may determine whether prosecutors have proved the charges against Naresh beyond a reasonable doubt. It cannot change the fact that Mamta has not been found. Until her whereabouts are established, her family remains without the certainty that would allow them to know what happened to her.
Mamta's story is therefore more than a courtroom case. It is also the story of a daughter whose family remembers her as a capable student, a woman who pursued nursing across borders, and a mother whose life with her young child ended in unexplained absence. The legal process continues, but the search for definitive answers about Mamta herself remains unfinished.
