Naresh Bhatt testifies he dismembered wife’s body after finding her dead

Virginia, USA, November 6, 2026 — Naresh Bhatt testified Thursday that he cut his wife’s body into pieces after finding her dead on the bedroom floor, telling the court that he stopped because he no longer had the physical strength to continue.

Testifying in his murder trial, Bhatt said he discovered Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s lifeless body on the morning of July 30, 2024. He described seeing vomit on her face and the floor, which he said contained blood, food particles, pill capsules and evidence of Celphos, a powerful agricultural fumigant used to kill insects.

Bhatt told the court that he touched his wife, tried speaking to her, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and attempted other lifesaving measures before deciding to dismember her. He said he initially tried to separate her legs from her torso.

According to his testimony, he moved her body into the bathroom but stopped the dismemberment on the first day because he lacked the physical strength to continue. He said he then blocked the bedroom door with a baby-changing station before picking up, feeding and putting the couple’s infant daughter to sleep.

Bhatt testified that he could not sleep that night. Asked whether he entered the room the family used for prayer, he said he did not because he was scared.

He faces charges of first-degree murder, concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body in connection with his wife’s disappearance. Her body has not been recovered, and Bhatt has remained in custody since his arrest in August 2024.