Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s mother, brother in US; husband’s defense waives right to preliminary hearing

MANASSAS, Va. - Naresh Bhatt’s defense team waived the right to a preliminary hearing Thursday at a Prince William County courthouse, as supporters of his missing and presumed dead wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, gathered outside.

Amy Ashworth, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Prince William County, explained a person accused of a felony is accorded a preliminary hearing. This is when the Commonwealth presents evidence to show probable cause that a crime was committed and that the person accused is the one that committed the crime alleged.

Bhatt, who is being charged with concealment of a dead body, waived that hearing Thursday which was scheduled for October 24 and the judge case was certified to the Grand Jury, which will decide whether there is probable cause to issue an indictment. Bhatt was denied bond on Monday and remains in jail.

The hearing Thursday lasted only a few minutes, though dozens of Mamta’s supporters packed the court room.

 READ MORE: Manassas Park police chief says search for missing mother Mamta Kafle is 'promising'

Holly Wirth, a nurse and Mamta’s former colleague at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center, said Mamta’s mother and brother had arrived in the U.S. and are with the couple's 1-year-old daughter, Neema.

"They are in a tremendous amount of pain. Where their joy comes from right now is being reunited with their granddaughter," Wirth said. "At the end of the day, Mamta should be known as always, a loving wife, a loving mother, a very proud, registered nurse."

Wirth and others have been attending the court proceedings since they began, calling Naresh a "master manipulator". 

"I have no problem seeing him in an orange jumpsuit and leg shackles. I sit in my seat. I have my row. I stare at the back of his head. I would gladly look at him in the eyes on behalf of his wife and there’s probably a whole bunch of people who would love to look at Naresh Bhatt in the eyes. We are going to continue to show up in force. You see around me, our numbers keep growing," she said. 

The hearing Thursday came two days after authorities conducted another search of the Bhatt’s home in Manassas Park. 

During one of the searches, prosecutors said in court there was evidence of blood pooling and blood splatter in the home. It was also revealed in court that Bhatt allegedly sold his car days prior to his arrest.

Brian Boyd has worked in federal law enforcement for more than 30 years, primarily specializing in intelligence analysis. Boyd trained with the D.C. police homicide unit while studying forensics and pathology for his Master’s degree. He said the car could eventually become an important piece of evidence.

Court documents obtained by FOX 5 state investigators believe Bhatt murdered his wife on or about July 30 and dragged her body out of the home.

"What they have to find is the direct linkage between him, her, the automobile. The real forensic evidence is not only what is inside of that house, what they would show that evidence there. If there’s blood, they’re going to look for two blood samples - his and hers. The other is any evidence of the body being moved from the house from either vehicle," he explained. "If he sold the car, that means he still can’t hide the evidence. There are thousands of cases where a car has been sold or left in the junkyard for 15, 20 years, then they’ll pull up the seat and find blood evidence underneath the cushion. You can’t hide blood evidence. It’s there somewhere. It can be in the arm, some crevice."

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Bhatt is being represented by a public defender who has made the argument that prosecutors have a weak case, as Mamta’s body has not been found yet. His attorney said in court earlier this week, Bhatt sold his car and was in the process of trying quick-sell his home because he lost his job amid the ongoing investigation.

"That’s why he has a public defender," attorney Shalev Ben-Avraham said this week.

Ben-Avraham alleged the case was built on "media frenzy" and pressure on Manassas Park authorities to announce an arrest.