Judge finds cause to keep husband of missing Manassas Park woman in custody
A judge on Monday remained firm on a ruling to keep the husband of a missing Manassas Park mother in custody without bond for his alleged role in her disappearance.
The judge agreed with prosecutors that Naresh Bhatt, 37, who was arrested Thursday, was a flight risk and posed a threat to the community based on information revealed in the courtroom.
His wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, has been missing for more than three weeks.
Naresh made his first appearance in court Friday morning, where defense attorneys initially argued that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Naresh with murder.
On Monday, Naresh's public defender argued the Commonwealth is missing key evidence for that charge, since Mamta's body has not been found and it is unknown at this point whether the blood discovered in the family home is hers.
The public defender pointed to pictures of evidence from the Commonwealth of blood, calling it a "minuscule" amount of blood compared to the "large pools of blood" described at Naresh's arraignment. The prosecution argued the evidence only shows the blood visible to the naked eye versus the blood visible through BLUESTAR technology.
The prosecution gave a timeline of events surrounding her disappearance, describing pools of blood and spatter visible through BLUESTAR technology in the couple's master bedroom and bathroom, saying the amount of blood detected comes from injuries that wouldn't be survivable. The prosecution stated BLUESTAR technology detects the most diluted blood samples.
Officials have accused Naresh of murdering Mamta and concealing her body, but so far he is only charged with concealment.
Prosecutors said a friend told police that Mamta was a victim of domestic abuse. They also said Naresh made Google searches in April on his federal work laptop, including searching how long it takes to get married after your spouse dies.
Mamta's disappearance sparked independent community searches and criticism from Mamta's loved ones on police response as they awaited answers from authorities on her disappearance.
The couple has a one-year-old daughter.
Outside the courtroom, members of the community gathered to discuss their thoughts following the hearing. Watch it in the media player below:
This story is developing. Stay with 7News for the latest information.
