Jury learns of murder suspect’s disturbing searches

An investigator recalled one of Naresh Bhatt's web searches: "Can I donate my baby to my friend?”MANASSAS, Va. (CN) — One day after the last known sighting of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, her husband entered this search query into either a cellphone or tablet: “Human brain diagram.”Results for Naresh Bhatt’s search included a drawing of a human brain segmented into parts, recalled Katherine Zaimis, a Prince William County Police Department officer who testified Wednesday at Bhatt’s trial. This is the fourth week of proceedings for Bhatt, 39, who is charged with murder, defiling a body and concealing a body in connection with the disappearance and presumptive murder of Mamta Bhatt, 28, last seen during a video call July 29, 2024.Bhatt has pleaded not guilty. His legal team has contended from the trial’s start that the prosecution lacks evidence. Mamta Bhatt’s body was never found, and prosecuting attorneys acknowledge their case against Naresh Bhatt is circumstantial. They have led witnesses with questions aimed at establishing premeditation and pushing their contention that he is a man capable of planning and executing the brutal killing and dismemberment of his wife.Prosecutors have argued Naresh Bhatt was abusive. On Wednesday, they showed an exchange of text messages between the couple to give the jury a glimpse of a troubled marriage. In the texts, the Bhatts argued about money and duties surrounding their infant daughter. “Please do not provoke me for suicide,” said one text attributed to Naresh Bhatt. He mentioned that at one point, his wife called the police to the house.“You forced me to do all that,” Mamta Bhatt responded, according to Zaimis.Web searches made on Bhatt’s account four months before the killing included “Can I donate my baby to my friend?” and “What happens if spouse disappears?” and “Need divorce spouse died in Virginia,” Zaimis testified.But for her part, Mamta Bhatt planned to make her home in the U.S. and had applied for citizenship, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services representatives who testified.As tensions between the two Bhatts escalated, prosecutors argue Naresh Bhatt killed Mamta Bhatt and tossed her dismembered body in area dumpsters.To that end, witnesses Wednesday included former FBI agent Cassandra Bulzomi, who remastered security videos showing Naresh Bhatt throwing trash bags into area dumpsters. One dumpster was in the apartment complex of the babysitter for the Bhatts’ daughter. Another was in Falls Church, a community about 20 miles away. In the video, Bhatt is clearly seen getting out of his car, hoisting plastic bags into the dumpsters and driving away.Earlier in the trial, one investigator described noticing the bedroom furniture in the Bhatt home looked as though it had been rearranged. Investigators discovered suspected blood stains by spraying the couple’s bathroom and bedroom with a chemical. They also showed the jury a saw that they argue Bhatt used to dismember his wife. Forensic investigators testified that blood stains inside the saw were consistent with a DNA profile of Mamta Bhatt.The trial continues Thursday. Prince William County Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Irving is presiding.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads