Nepal UK
Bhatt, 39, was also convicted of concealing a dead body and defiling a dead body, so he was found guilty on all three counts. The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for just over four hours, according to local reporting, after weeks of testimony. The judge revoked his bond immediately and he remains in custody.
For most of the time since Ms Kafle Bhatt was last seen alive on 30 July 2024, Bhatt's account to others was that she had left home and he did not know where she was. According to reporting on the case, she missed her nursing shift on 1 August and a missing-person report was filed on 5 August, in which he suggested she might have left the area of her own accord. Police arrested him later that month.
At trial, that account changed. Bhatt took the stand last week and testified that he found his wife dead in their bedroom, tried for around an hour to revive her, and then, fearing he would be blamed, disposed of her remains. He maintained that she had died by suicide and denied killing her. He also acknowledged under cross-examination that he had lied to her relatives, friends, neighbours and police. Prosecutors have said they first heard the suicide claim when he testified.
The prosecution team argued that Bhatt's purchases, internet searches and efforts to conceal what happened pointed to planning rather than panic. Local reporting says prosecutors called about 100 witnesses and presented close to 500 exhibits. The evidence included surveillance footage of purchases of cleaning supplies and refuse bags, phone and vehicle records tracing his movements, and DNA testing in which samples from a power saw were consistent with Ms Kafle Bhatt's profile. Forensic scientists also said DNA from the bedroom carpet strongly supported her and the couple's daughter as contributors to a mixture.
Prosecutor Sarah Sami told jurors Bhatt "was the only one with motive, opportunity and intent". Another prosecutor, Matthew Sweet, said after the verdict that "justice was served for Mamta today."
Ms Kafle Bhatt's brother, Mahesh Kafle, testified that his sister had sent him a photograph showing what appeared to be a facial injury and had told him she felt unsafe. A close friend and colleague, Sunita Basnet Thapa, told the court she had seen a bruise on Ms Kafle Bhatt's face in late 2023. Ms Kafle Bhatt's mother, Gita, and her brother also testified that they rejected the suicide claim. A police witness said a search of the couple's Manassas Park home found no evidence of suicide.
Bhatt's lawyers did not dispute that he disposed of the body, but argued that the state had not proved how she died. The defence said the forensic evidence could not establish how blood came to be on the carpet. Chief Public Defender Tracey Lenox urged jurors not to let emotion decide the case, saying: "The commonwealth has not ruled out suicide as the reason for the physical evidence they showed you."
NepalUK has not found a public statement from Bhatt's lawyers since the verdict, nor any indication yet of whether an appeal will be lodged.
Bhatt faces 20 years to life in prison for first-degree murder, with up to five years more on each of the two other counts. A sentencing report will now be prepared, and sentencing is set for 12 March 2027.
The Commonwealth's Attorney for Prince William County, Amy Ashworth, said the verdict "represents an important measure of justice" for Ms Kafle Bhatt and her family. She added that the case was "a powerful reminder that the absence of a victim's body does not mean the absence of justice."
Friends, who wore red to court because it was Ms Kafle Bhatt's favourite colour, credited the Nepali community and her friends with pushing for answers after she went missing. Her family members were seen embracing after the verdict. One friend, Holly Wirth, addressed Bhatt directly: "Whatever lies you told, you didn't erase Mamta." Ms Thapa said: "Finally, Mamta can rest in peace."
Because her remains have never been recovered, her family has been unable to carry out traditional funeral rites, according to one report. The couple's daughter was an infant when her mother disappeared; her present circumstances have not been made public, and NepalUK has not sought them.
