Indian-origin man cuts wife’s body after she dies by ‘suicide’, he is now convicted of murder

A Virginia court has convicted Indian-origin man Naresh Bhatt of first-degree murder on Tuesday, rejecting his claim that his wife died by suicide. The 39-year-old was found by his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, unconscious and later discovered to have died from insecticide poisoning. Bhatt told the court he found her body, dismembered it, and disposed of it.

He denies the murder charge and maintains she took her own life after consuming insecticide. The jury found Bhatt guilty of first-degree murder, transporting, desecrating, concealing or altering a dead body, and physical defiling a dead human body. He faces up to life in prison for the murder charge and an additional five years for each body manipulation charge, with sentencing likely on March 12.

Bhatt expressed no emotion during the verdict, while his family hugged upon hearing the decision. Mamta had been missing since July 27, 2024, and was initially presumed dead before authorities found her body.