Bombshell testimony marks end of week 5 in Naresh Bhatt trial

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Wake five of the Naresh Bhatt murder trial ended with bombshell testimony. Naresh Bhatt admitted to cutting up his wife's body yesterday. Until yesterday, he had maintained that his wife was simply missing. But yesterday, he shared a brand new story saying that he found his wife dead by suicide. And that instead of calling 911, he chopped up her body and dumped her in the trash. [00:00:23] Speaker 2: You lied to Gita Koffle, right? [00:00:29] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. [00:00:30] Speaker 2: You lied to her, to Manta's brother, Mahesh. [00:00:34] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. [00:00:37] Speaker 2: That's for starters. You, sir, have a lot on the line right now. You could go to prison if the jury finds you guilty, correct? [00:00:53] Speaker 4: Correct. So you have to convince 12 people that you didn't do this, right? [00:00:59] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. [00:01:02] Speaker 1: Well, these are the biggest developments in the case that we've seen thus far. And we've been covering this case for two years now. Manta has been seen or heard from since July 20th, 2024. She's a mother and a nurse, 28-year-old and 28 years old when she was last seen. Her husband was arrested a few weeks later, charged with her murder. Her body has never been recovered. Katie Lusso has been covering this story from the very beginning and was also in the courtroom for that testimony as well. So I think a lot of us listening to it were no doubt gobsmacked by the details because his account was completely inconsistent in terms of what he told you, what he told investigators, what he told counsel, even leading up into his admission there. No doubt striking. Very much so. [00:01:53] Speaker 5: And you know, that's what we've seen from him since back in 2024, just this inconsistency. And it's not clear why, right? If his story from yesterday about his wife taking her own life is true, why not just call 911, his reason obviously being that he was scared, but then to talk about dismembering your wife, right? He's talking about cutting up his wife, the mother of his 11-month-old child, and dumping her body parts. He has talked so much about culture, right? That goes against everything in his culture and also the respect, right? But with respect to Momta's family for two years, they have not known where Momta was, and they had to find out in a courtroom yesterday that she's no longer here. [00:02:35] Speaker 1: And the first time that they've heard this admission from Naresh Bhatt, you know, one has to sort of sit with this because ultimately it's the jurors that will determine this case, at least the outcome of the charges that have been lodged against Naresh Bhatt, with the highest of them being murder. He says that he defiled the body. He says that he dismembered Momta's body, but that he did not murder her. And that is an important distinction in this case. [00:03:02] Speaker 5: It certainly is, because, you know, the first-degree murder charge, it comes with a life sentence here. Now, we heard today in jury instructions that the second-degree murder charge can be considered by the jurors if they don't believe this was premeditated. But the likelihood is, based on the evidence they have seen, that he was doing these insane Google searches, right, talking about what happens if my wife disappears. This is back in the spring of 2024. And then you have all of these text messages about wanting a Columbia girl. He says they were a joke. But it begs the question of, will the jury decide that this was premeditated? But you're right. It comes down to his defense having to make a decision. And they apparently made the decision that maybe Naresh Bhatt getting up there on the stand was the best idea in this case. I spoke to criminal defense attorney Frank Salvedo about this. And I asked him, you know, about this strategy, what maybe they were thinking here. [00:03:53] Naresh Bhatt: So essentially, they're hoping the jury comes back and says, listen, we're going to convict him of this. He admitted to that. But there's a reasonable doubt on the actual murder charges. [00:04:03] Speaker 5: I did ask him if that is a smart strategy. And he said, well, it's a strategy. Maybe it's a strategy they should have thought of a few months ago and possibly got a plea deal out of this. Because right now they are risking it all and hoping the jurors believe Naresh Bhatt, a man who has lied so many times and now admitted to lying. [00:04:21] Speaker 1: It feels like a Hail Mary moment, at least, when you're watching all of that. On the stand, he also admitted to the fact that he had lied. And I think when you sit with that, if you're one of the 12 jurors that you're having to sit with all of the evidence and everything that's been presented, whether or not you can believe when he tells you that he didn't murder her, if there's enough evidence that would leave you to believe that there's enough reasonable doubt to acquit him of that charge in particular. [00:04:48] Speaker 5: And why believe him now? Why is this not a lie, too? [00:04:51] Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, the developments are striking. We know that you have been on top of this case and we expect to get more. And we will see what the next week will bring for all of us. Thank you so much.