Bodycam of Missing Woman’s Hubby Raises Eyebrows: ‘Sometimes She Came Back’

In eerie bodycam footage obtained by Newsweek, a Virginia husband accused of concealing his wife’s dead body told police that his estranged bride struggled with her mental health.

The presumably dead body of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, has yet to be found as her husband, Naresh Bhatt, 37, sits behind bars charged in connection with her disappearance.

Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s employer, the UVA Health Prince William Medical Center, called the police for a wellness check after the pediatric nurse uncharacteristically missed work. Newsweek has obtained the police bodycam footage from the August 2 wellness check.

The video starts when police knock on the front door of the couple’s Manassas Park home and greet Naresh Bhatt who is holding the couple’s 1-year-old daughter throughout the nearly 12-minute conversation. He tells officers that the couple, originally from Nepal, have separated and he is trying to sell the house.

“On Tuesday, Wednesday, she left and then she said she gonna go to New York or Texas,” Naresh Bhatt said.

He told cops that his missing wife went to either state to be with one of her sisters. He also said his wife destroyed her phone and then she left the house.

Officers asked if Naresh Bhatt had any other contact information for his wife or her sister, but he claimed he only spoke to her sister through Facebook and did not have her phone number.

Naresh Bhatt claimed this is not the first time his wife has gone missing. In March, she disappeared “for a week or something.” He said his wife was living in an apartment building with one of their friends, but he did not know the exact address.

“Sometimes she came back but most of her regular stuff she already took in March,” he said. “But you know, fancy wear, suits, special wear, we still have here… It’s not like the first time she disappeared and then came back.”

He then continued: “She got the green card already…”

When the officers tell him that his wife’s employer was who called for the wellness check, Naresh Bhatt replies, “That’s fine. She’s supposed to be there… I cannot say where she goes.”

Naresh Bhatt pulled two IDs out of his wallet, one of which appeared to be his Army identification.

“Military?” one of the officers sees the card and asks. “What branch?”

“Army,” Naresh Bhatt smiles. “Are you?”

“No, my wife is in the military,” the officer responds.

“Oh, wow,” Naresh Bhatt happily nods, placing the card back in his wallet.

Naresh Bhatt also told police his wife had lied to him in the past and that she had issues with her mental health.

“I told her like multiple times, let’s go to the psychiatrist,” Naresh Bhatt said. “And she’s like, ‘No, I’m OK. I know my stuff, I’m a registered nurse.'”

The police encounter ends with officials giving him their contact information and asking Naresh Bhatt to let them know if his wife reappears. Naresh says his wife could be home by Sunday, but that never happened.

Naresh Bhatt formally reported Mamta Bhatt missing to police on August 5.

Since then, police executed search warrants on the couple’s home and found evidence of pooled blood in the master bedroom and blood spatter in the master bathroom. Investigators also found signs suggesting a body had been dragged through the house.

Officials also served a search warrant to Google requesting location data and search history for Naresh Bhatt. The warrant also asked for his account information, social media accounts, and map search between July 27 and August 1.

In court last month, prosecutors noted Google searches made in April on Naresh’s work laptop asking how long it takes to get married after your spouse dies.

Naresh Bhatt’s trial will begin on December 9 with a pre-trial hearing set for November 20.

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