Indian-origin man cuts wife’s body after she dies by ‘suicide’, he is now convicted of murder

Naresh was arrested on August 22 and also charged with murder and defiling a body.

A Virginia court has found Indian-origin man Naresh Bhatt guilty of first-degree murder on Tuesday and rejected his claim that his wife died by suicide.

The conviction comes days after Bhatt, 39, told the court that he found her wife unconscious and when he couldn’t revive her, he dismembered her and disposed of her body. He, however, denied murdering her and said she died by suicide after consuming insecticide.

“We the jury find the accused Naresh Bhatt guilty of transporting, desecrating, concealing or altering a dead body. The jury find the accused, Naresh Bhatt, guilty of first-degree murder…the jury finds the accused guilty of physical defiling a dead human body,” the jury ruled.

Bhatt could face sentence up to life in prison for the first-degree murder charge and an additional five years for each body manipulation charge. He is set to be sentenced likely on March 12.

Videos have surfaced on social media showing Naresh Bhatt expressionless while the verdict was being read. He was seen briefly talking to his attorney.

Meanwhile, Kafle Bhatt’s family was seen hugging after the verdict, with one family member thanking a prosecutor.

About the case

The case stems from the disappearance of Bhatt’s wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, who went missing since July 27, 2024 and was presumed dead by the authorities days later.

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Naresh initially maintained that she had gone to visit relatives in New York or Texas before she disappeared. As the probe began, authorities charged Bhatt for first-degree murder, concealing body and defiling it. He was also arrested weeks later.

Cut to November 2026, Naresh Bhatt departed from his earlier claims around wife’s disappearance and said he found Mamta unconscious lying by the foot of the bed on the night she went missing.

He said he found Mamta surrounded by vomit and an open insecticide packet lying near her. He further said that in a state of panic he used a saw to cut up her body and said he considered taking his own life.