Court MinutesInvestigator Zanis testified about texts extracted from Bhatt's phone; the judge received them into evidence without defense objection
7 min read
Video: Court TV · Published 8:37 PM ET
Today in five bullets · Commonwealth v. Bhatt · Day 13 · Oct 28
- A prosecutor read a Feb. 16 message in which Bhatt wrote "Okay, I have left the state," followed by messages about the couple's daughter and custody. 0:00:41
- A prosecutor read Feb. 17 messages that included the line "That's probably why we getting divorced," and one about bringing police to the home. 0:05:58
- A prosecutor read Feb. 18 and 19 messages including Please do not provoke me for suicide and The days are coming that you will regret a lot. 0:07:45
- Investigator Zanis described a text from Mamta Kafle's phone to Bhatt's phone, translated from Nepali, saying the couple's daughter was crying. 0:18:21
- Investigator Zanis testified that a text message to Bhatt's phone was sent July 28, 2024 at 9:42 PM and read on July 29 at 5:55 PM. 0:19:27
The Case
Charged: First-degree murder; concealing a dead body; defiling a dead body.
What happened: Mamta Kafle Bhatt has been missing, and her body has never been found. Her husband, Naresh Bhatt, is charged in her death. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The state says: Bhatt killed his wife, dismembered her body and threw the remains away in trash bins in Manassas Park and Fairfax, and his Google searches beforehand show premeditation.
The defense says: there is a "black hole" in the evidence the prosecution cannot fill, and most of the forensic work speaks to hiding a body, not to a premeditated killing.
Where it stands: prosecution's case · scheduled through Nov 19.
Judge Kimberly A. Irving · Defense: Tracey Lenox
Updated Day 10
What's next
The trial is scheduled to resume Thursday, Oct 29.
Text messages read to the jury
A prosecutor read a Feb. 16 message in which Bhatt wrote "Okay, I have left the state," followed by messages about the couple's daughter and custody. 0:00:41 A prosecutor then read Feb. 17 messages about a pediatric appointment, insurance, work and money for diapers, with phone calls between the couple's phones. 0:04:36
A prosecutor read Feb. 17 messages that included the line "That's probably why we getting divorced," and one about bringing police to the home. 0:05:58 A prosecutor read Feb. 18 and 19 messages including Please do not provoke me for suicide and The days are coming that you will regret a lot. 0:07:45
A prosecutor read Feb. 19 messages arranging a pickup and drop-off of the daughter, and a later exchange about whose phone was whose. 0:09:45 A prosecutor read messages asking about filing taxes and about what to do regarding the police report, with several audio-video calls noted. 0:12:12
Investigator Zanis and the phone extraction
Investigator Zanis identified Commonwealth exhibit 453 as text messages between Mamta Kafle's phone and Naresh Bhatt's phone, extracted from Bhatt's phone. 0:15:54 The judge asked for objections, the defense said no objection, and the judge received the exhibit into evidence. 0:16:33
Investigator Zanis testified that a text message to Bhatt's phone was sent July 28, 2024 at 9:42 PM and read on July 29 at 5:55 PM. 0:19:27 The investigator said the Bad memory contact label was associated by the extraction software and did not necessarily come from the phone's contacts list. 0:18:42
The investigator said a message from Mamta Kafle's phone read Come fast and that its timestamp was already converted to Eastern daylight time. 0:20:38 The defense lawyer asked whether the time on the message from the phone ending 8236 had already been converted from UTC. 0:21:06
Investigator Zanis testified that the user of Bhatt's phone liked the Come fast message on August 14, 2024. 0:21:26 The investigator testified a contact attachment was deleted from Bhatt's phone on Aug. 14, 2024, and no texts came from Mamta's number after Aug. 2. 0:22:11
Search records from Bhatt's phone
The investigator testified three divorce and spouse-related searches, one from March 21, 2024, were found on Bhatt's phone, two finished by autocomplete. 0:00:24 The witness testified one search carried a March 21, 2024 timestamp and the others had to predate March 27, 2024. 0:01:34 She testified the searches were also found in an iCloud backup of the same account as the phone. 0:02:34
The investigator testified that on July 30, 2024, the phone showed searches for human brain diagram and chicken farm near me, plus a cached drawing of a brain. 0:03:27 The witness testified the human brain diagram search showed a local timestamp of July 30, 2024 at 12:13 AM. 0:16:14 The witness testified other searches included meat cutter, knife sharpener at Dollar Tree and electric handsaw for wood cutting. 0:04:35
The investigator testified the meat cutter search had no date, probably because it was no longer in the active Chrome search history database on the phone. 0:14:22 The investigator testified Mamta's number was stored in Skype as 'bad memory' with a man running emoji, and was not in the phone's native contacts list. 0:07:11 The witness identified a 62-page report of Google searches from the phone, and the judge received it without objection. 0:11:13
Later searches and the investigator's limits
The witness testified to later searches including pepper spray cleanup on August 2, 2024, and missing person finding rate in Virginia on August 5, 2024. 0:21:23 Asked by the prosecutor, the investigator said they did not know why the searches were made and did not interview the person who typed them. 0:21:45
The witness read searches from Aug. 16, 2024, including IAD to Delhi flights, IAD to KTM flights and CarMax Dulles, with timestamps. 0:25:22 The witness read a search, "Can I donate my baby to my friend?", with a timestamp of Aug. 17, 2024, at 7:35 AM. 0:28:54 The witness also read a February 2024 search for uncontested divorce joint bank account Virginia and Feb. 20 searches on adultery in Virginia. 0:39:45
All 30 Moments
| Position in the clip | Moment |
|---|---|
| 0:00:41 | A prosecutor read a Feb. 16 message in which Bhatt wrote "Okay, I have left the state," followed by messages about the couple's daughter and custody. Other 0:00:41 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:04:36 | A prosecutor read Feb. 17 messages about a pediatric appointment, insurance, work and money for diapers, plus phone calls between the phones. Other 0:04:36 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:05:58 | A prosecutor read Feb. 17 messages that included the line "That's probably why we getting divorced," and one about bringing police to the home. Other 0:05:58 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:07:45 | A prosecutor read Feb. 18 and 19 messages including Please do not provoke me for suicide and The days are coming that you will regret a lot. Other 0:07:45 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:09:45 | A prosecutor read Feb. 19 messages arranging a pickup and drop-off of the daughter, and a later exchange about whose phone was whose. Other 0:09:45 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:12:12 | A prosecutor read messages asking about filing taxes and about what to do regarding the police report, with several audio-video calls noted. Other 0:12:12 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:15:54 | Investigator Zanis identified Commonwealth exhibit 453 as text messages between Mamta Kafle's phone and Naresh Bhatt's phone, extracted from Bhatt's phone. Direct (state) 0:15:54 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:16:33 | The judge asked for objections, the defense said no objection, and the judge received Commonwealth exhibit 453 into evidence. Ruling 0:16:33 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:18:21 | Investigator Zanis described a text from Mamta Kafle's phone to Bhatt's phone, translated from Nepali, saying the couple's daughter was crying. Direct (state) 0:18:21 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:18:42 | Investigator Zanis said the Bad memory contact label was associated by the extraction software and did not necessarily come from the phone's contacts list. Direct (state) 0:18:42 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:19:27 | Investigator Zanis testified that a text message to Bhatt's phone was sent July 28, 2024 at 9:42 PM and read on July 29 at 5:55 PM. Direct (state) 0:19:27 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:20:38 | Investigator Zanis said a message from Mamta Kafle's phone read 'Come fast' and that its timestamp was already converted to Eastern daylight time. Direct (state) 0:20:38 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:21:06 | The defense lawyer asked the investigator whether the time on the message from the phone ending 8236 had already been converted from UTC. Cross (defense) 0:21:06 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:21:26 | Investigator Zanis testified that the user of Bhatt's phone liked the Come fast message on August 14, 2024. Direct (state) 0:21:26 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:22:11 | The investigator testified a contact attachment was deleted from Bhatt's phone on Aug. 14, 2024, and no texts came from Mamta's number after Aug. 2. Direct (state) 0:22:11 into Court TV · part 3 (edited clip) |
| 0:00:24 | The investigator testified three divorce and spouse-related searches, one from March 21, 2024, were found on Bhatt's phone, two finished by autocomplete. Direct (state) 0:00:24 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:01:34 | The witness testified one search carried a March 21, 2024 timestamp and the others had to predate March 27, 2024; the iCloud backup also held the searches. Direct (state) 0:01:34 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:02:34 | The witness testified that the searches were also found in an iCloud backup of the same account as the phone. Direct (state) 0:02:34 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:03:27 | The witness testified that on July 30, 2024, the phone showed searches for human brain diagram and chicken farm near me, plus a cached drawing of a brain. Direct (state) 0:03:27 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:04:35 | The witness testified that other searches on the phone included meat cutter, knife sharpener at Dollar Tree and electric handsaw for wood cutting. Direct (state) 0:04:35 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:04:45 | The witness testified the phone also held searches for meat cutter, knife sharpener at Dollar Tree, electric handsaw for wood cutting, and melatonin dosage. Direct (state) 0:04:45 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:07:11 | The investigator testified Mamta's number was stored in Skype as 'bad memory' with a man running emoji, and was not in the phone's native contacts list. Direct (state) 0:07:11 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:11:13 | The witness identified a 62-page report of Google searches from the phone, and the judge received it without objection. Direct (state) 0:11:13 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:14:22 | The investigator testified the meat cutter search had no date, probably because it was no longer in the active Chrome search history database on the phone. Direct (state) 0:14:22 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:16:14 | The witness testified the human brain diagram search showed a local timestamp of July 30, 2024 at 12:13 AM. Direct (state) 0:16:14 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:21:23 | The witness testified to later searches including pepper spray cleanup on August 2, 2024, and missing person finding rate in Virginia on August 5, 2024. Direct (state) 0:21:23 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:21:45 | Asked by the prosecutor, the investigator said they did not know why the searches were made and did not interview the person who typed them. Direct (state) 0:21:45 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:25:22 | The witness read searches from Aug. 16, 2024, including IAD to Delhi flights, IAD to KTM flights and CarMax Dulles, with timestamps. Direct (state) 0:25:22 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:28:54 | The witness read a search, "Can I donate my baby to my friend?", with a timestamp of Aug. 17, 2024, at 7:35 AM. Direct (state) 0:28:54 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
| 0:39:45 | The witness read a February 2024 search for uncontested divorce joint bank account Virginia and Feb. 20 searches on adultery in Virginia. Direct (state) 0:39:45 into WUSA9 · part 4 (edited clip) |
Times are positions in the Court TV clip; no time in court was published. Each opens the clip at that moment.
Witnesses today
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