A Mother Vanishes: Inside the Bhatt Murder Trial

SPEAKER_1 (0:04)

Did you have a pretty close relationship with Mamta as your daughter?

Katie Lusso (0:19)

We were very close.

Anne-Marie Green (0:21)

I loved her and she loved me.

SPEAKER_1 (0:26)

How often would you talk to Mamta?

SPEAKER_4 (0:35)

On a daily basis, like morning and the evening.

Anne-Marie Green (0:43)

That was Geeta Kafle, the mother of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, testifying at her daughter's murder trial in Manassas Park, Virginia. As you can hear, she's using a translator. Mamta's husband, Naresh Bhatt, was charged with murdering Mamta after she appeared to have gone missing. On August 2nd, 2024, her coworkers at the UVA Prince William Medical Center requested a welfare check on the Bhatt home when Mamta missed a few of her shifts at work. Naresh spoke to the officers who conducted the welfare check and then filed a missing persons report on August 5th. Naresh was arrested and held without bond on August 22nd, 2024

He now stands trial for concealing the body of his wife, Mamta, for murder and defiling a body. The trial is expected to take up to seven weeks. The charges are significant because Mamta's body has still not been found.

I'm 48 Hours correspondent Anne-Marie Green and this is Case by Case. For our previous coverage of the Bhatt trial, you can head on over to the 48 Hours YouTube channel or check out the Case by Case feed wherever you get your podcasts. Joining us today is Wusa9 reporter Katie Lusso, who has been covering this case. Katie, it is so great to have you here today.

Katie Lusso (2:06)

Hi there. Thank you so much for having me.

Anne-Marie Green (2:09)

You've really been on this trial since before it was a trial.

You all have done extensive coverage and in fact, you were at the Bhatt home speaking to Naresh, asking him about the disappearance of his wife a full eight days before he was arrested. Give me an idea of just what led you to the home. Were you aware that he may have been a suspect and what was his demeanor like?

Katie Lusso (2:34)

No, we were not aware that he was even being considered a person of interest at that point. He had appeared at a press conference that afternoon. I was working nightside that day and I was like, hey, have we done a door knock?

A few days earlier, my colleague, Rafael Sanchez Cruz had actually stopped him and interviewed him outside of the Manassas Park Police Department. When I say interview, I say that loosely because Naresh really didn't want to talk to us yet. He seemed to be confused about whether or not he was allowed to speak with us. And so there was a little bit of an exchange between him and my colleague, Rafael. Rafael was saying, hey, we just want to know what your message is. The community is really trying to find her. What do you want to say to the community about when you last saw her? Is there anything, you know, the standard conversation that we as journalists have with families when there are missing people?

And so that night, I went to his home. I had a phone conversation with him before I headed out there as it is a little bit out of the way of the DC area where our station is located. And I headed out there after speaking with him on the phone. And I headed to his home. I knocked on the door. Somebody else answered. I said, hey, is Naresh home? I'd love to speak with him. He came to the door. The baby was crying in the background and our conversation began.

Anne-Marie Green (3:47)

Wow. I mean, were you expecting him to speak to you?

Katie Lusso (3:52)

You know, it's hard to say because I had spoken to him on the phone and he said, yes, I'll talk to you, but today's not a good day. I believe he said to me, I have to take care of the baby. And I said, well, how about I just call you in a few hours? And of course, I knocked on the door instead. You know, as journalists, we want to just go there and try to talk to the person versus trying to convince them again on the phone.

Anne-Marie Green (4:16)

Yeah, I've done many a door knock where you're not sure whether or not the person is going to open the door. When they do, you don't know how long they're going to stand there.

What was his demeanor like with you?

Katie Lusso (4:26)

He was juggling. It seemed like he was juggling a few things. He mentioned that to me on the phone, that he had a lot going on, understandably. You know, his wife is missing. He has an 11 month old baby.