A Virginia man has been charged with murdering his wife months after making a disturbing Google search.
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A man who allegedly looked up, “How long does it take to get married after spouse die” on Google before his wife disappeared has been charged with her murder.
Naresh Bhatt, 37, from Virginia, was charged on Monday with first-degree murder and the physical defilement of a dead body.
This adds to a previous charge he received in August for concealing a dead body, even though authorities have not yet located his wife’s remains, according to WUSA9.
Bhatt used his work laptop to look up the harrowing query three months before his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, who he had been with for three years, went missing.
He also searched, “What happen to debt died spouse”, prosecutors said.
Authorities stated that Mamta Kafle Bhatt, who was a nurse and mother to the couple’s 1-year-old daughter, likely died in a violent struggle within their home in July.
Blood found in the couple’s bedroom and bathroom matched Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s DNA, and an investigation by Manassas Police determined her body was likely dismembered.
“The forensic unit of Prince William County said it was one of the worst crime scenes they’ve seen. That was one statement they made the day that Naresh was arrested,” Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo said.
While her body is yet to be recovered, Lugo said the DNA results were enough to make the two new charges.
The 28-year-old woman has not been seen since July 29, but her husband only reported her missing on August 5.
During a welfare check on August 2, requested by Mamta Kafle Bhatt’s colleagues, Bhatt reportedly told police he was in the process of separating from his wife.
Prosecutors say that he claimed she was either in New York or Texas visiting family, but they allege she had no biological family in the US.
He also allegedly told officers that his wife had destroyed her phone before going on the trip.
Prosecutors accused Bhatt of purchasing three knives at Walmart on July 30, two of which are unaccounted for.
The following day, he was seen on surveillance footage at another Walmart buying cleaning supplies, according to prosecutors.
Authorities searched extensively for months for Mamta Kafle Bhatt, but Lugo says police do not believe she is alive.
“Searches ─ we’ve done over 10. We’ve done grid searches ─ searches with [search dogs],” he said.
“She was a person who was very hardworking, very beautiful [and] very honest. She aspired to be somebody great and she worked really hard and she could be. I don’t know what to say because I can never forget her but whenever I think about it I have my heartache.”