Wife's Human Hair and Fragments Found on Power Saw in Virginia Murder Case, Husband Arrested

According to newly released court records, human hair and hair fragments were found on a handheld power saw recovered from the Virginia home of a man accused of killing and dismembering his wife.

Prosecutors in Prince William County said the evidence was recovered during the investigation into the disappearance of 28-year-old Mamta Kafle Bhatt, whose body has still not been found nearly a year after she vanished.

Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, 39, now faces charges of murder, concealing a dead body, and physically defiling a dead body. Investigators believe he killed his wife inside their Manassas Park home before scattering her remains across Northern Virginia.

A forensic report dated April 29 said investigators recovered three “human hairs,” 13 “human hair fragments,” fibers, and debris from the saw. According to the court report, the hairs “may be suitable for nuclear DNA testing” and were sent to a lab for analysis.

Mamta Bhatt was last seen on July 27, 2024, while working at UVA Health Prince William Medical Center in Manassas. It lies about 30 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

Friends grew worried after receiving two calls from her phone the next day. Her social media activity then stopped on July 29, according to investigators.

Police went to the Bhatt home on Aug. 2 after Mamta Bhatt missed several days of work and her supervisor requested a welfare check. Body camera footage released later showed Naresh Bhatt speaking with officers while holding the couple’s young child. He claimed his wife had left home voluntarily.

“She’s going to go to either New York or Texas,” Bhatt told officers. He also said the couple was separating.

“If it’s the first time, I can say, ‘ok, where are you going?’” He said. “This is like, multiple times.”

Investigators reportedly found blood evidence inside the home and signs that a body had been dragged from the master bedroom into a bathroom.

Despite his wife’s disappearance, Bhatt allegedly allowed her friends to gather at the home days later for the first birthday party of the couple’s daughter.

Authorities arrested Bhatt on Aug. 22, 2024, on a charge of concealing a dead body. Prosecutors later issued a murder indictment in December.

The case has drawn widespread attention across Northern Virginia as investigators continue searching for Mamta Bhatt’s remains. Bhatt is now scheduled to appear in court on May 28. Three more hearings are planned before a jury trial set for Oct. 5.