'I USED THE SAW': Naresh Bhatt testifies about how he 'cut up' wife's body

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: news this noon, bombshell testimony from Naresh Bhatt at his own murder trial. He just testified that he found his wife unresponsive and admitted to attempting to dismember her body and trying to get rid of it. The Manassas Park man is accused of murdering Momtikoffle Bhatt more than two years ago. Joining me now is 7 News digital reporter Jade Lawson. She's been monitoring the court proceedings since the very beginning. This is a big day, Jade. Yeah, Michelle, it's been a huge, [00:00:26] Jade Lawson: stunning day. So Naresh Bhatt testified this morning about the last time he remembers seeing his wife Momtikoffle alive and that he found her unresponsive body inside of their Manassas Park home on July 30 of 2024. Now, in more shocking testimony, he also just admitted that he tried to dismember Momtikoffle's body and was trying to get rid of it. Take a listen. Did you finish [00:00:49] Speaker 3: cutting Momtikoffle's body before the trash came? Yes. And did you know that her physical body would be taken away at that time? Yes. And did any part of her body ever go into the Tesla? No. Did any part of her body go anywhere else other than the trash in your garage? No. No. I think this is clear, but I want I want to make it make sure it's clear. You cut her body up and put it in the trash so that it would not be found? [00:01:34] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. Do you remember going to the Home Depot? Yes. Why did you go there? To find anything like to hide or like anything to go to the Potomac. To do what? To find anything to hide a body. And what was the second thing you said? Or anything like, you know, I can get [00:01:55] Speaker 3: something to take to the Potomac. For the Potomac? Potomac, yes. Were you thinking about what, why did you, what, what were you going to do if you went to the Potomac? [00:02:04] Naresh Bhatt: What did you, what did you, what did you, what did you, what did you mean? [00:02:13] Speaker 1: Just a stunning line of questioning right now to hear Naresh admit to trying to hide the body, even thinking of going to the Potomac River? [00:02:21] Jade Lawson: It is. Yeah. And you heard that he says he was taking deep breaths while he was on the stand. I can tell you right now, nobody in that courtroom probably expected to hear such a testimony. His eyes were closed. He looked down as he recounted exactly what was happening and what he did to Mompton in the days following. Take a listen. [00:02:38] Speaker 3: Let's move on, Mr. Bot, and talk about the time frame that brings us, all of us, here in this trial, okay? What did you do when you had that sense and you noticed a different smell? [00:02:56] Naresh Bhatt: Then I just came back and then asked for Mompton. [00:03:00] Speaker 3: Where was, did you see her? [00:03:02] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. [00:03:03] Speaker 3: Where was she? [00:03:04] Naresh Bhatt: On the floor. [00:03:06] Speaker 3: And, um, can you describe what you saw when you saw Mompton on the floor? [00:03:16] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. On the floor, facing north side, and then she was lying with a vomit, stuff like that. [00:03:25] Speaker 3: Was she, what, what, was she lying? How was she lying? On, on her side, on her back, on the front? [00:03:32] Naresh Bhatt: Back, tilted, head. [00:03:34] Speaker 3: Back and what? [00:03:35] Naresh Bhatt: On the back, on back, head tilted. [00:03:38] Speaker 3: And her head tilted. Do you remember which? I'm sorry, could you repeat the answer? [00:03:42] Naresh Bhatt: Head tilted. Head tilted. Head tilted. Thank you, sir. [00:03:48] Speaker 1: Just a lot for the jury to digest. I mean, uh, another twist to all of this. Nuresh said that in his testimony that he even considered taking his own life? [00:03:58] Jade Lawson: Yeah, I mean, he mentioned that, you know, in the days following trying to dismember his body, there was a lot going on, right? He was dropping his daughter off to a babysitter. He was trying to figure out what he was going to do, whether, what he was going to do with that dismembered body. And he also described attempting to get a wire or a cable, but he said that he didn't want to go through with it. He also said that he tried CPR on Mamtha, but did not call police. Take a listen. [00:04:22] Naresh Bhatt: That's the, I really, at that point, scared. I don't know why I did not. I tried to call. I really scared. I don't know why. Something take over me. I was really, really panicked. Like, I don't know, I don't really, even like, it's been like two, over two years, I have completed more than 3,500 hours of meditation. Still, I don't have that answer. [00:04:50] Speaker 1: Now, our reporter in the courtroom during the testimony, I spoke to her just before airtime, and she tells me the jury looked confused during this testimony because all along, the story has been, initially, Naresh claimed that he just didn't know what happened to Mamtha. She disappeared is what he told police and told even reporters early on when she was first reported missing. This is a huge twist. [00:05:17] Jade Lawson: Yeah, it's a huge twist, and prosecutors haven't even begun their cross-examination. But Bot said that he was afraid of being blamed for Mamtha's death. Here's how that exchange went in the courtroom. [00:05:27] Speaker 3: Are you afraid that you're going to be blamed for driving her to suicide? [00:05:33] Naresh Bhatt: Yes. [00:05:38] Speaker 3: Are you afraid that you're going to be blamed for not taking serious? [00:05:42] Speaker ?: How? [00:05:42] Naresh Bhatt: 100%, yes. [00:05:45] Speaker 1: All right, so, Jade, obviously, a lot has happened just in the last two hours of testimony, but we should make it clear to our viewers that Bot has not admitted to killing Mamtha. He has only admitted to finding her dead and trying to cut up her body and then trying to get rid of it. [00:06:02] Jade Lawson: For sure, yeah, and I'm going to be continuing to closely monitor this as we're watching the testimony and posting live updates on WJLA.com. [00:06:11] Speaker 1: All right, thank you so much for your work on this story. Of course, stay with 7 News for much more of Bot's testimony. We've been posting live updates from court on WJLA.com. That's where you can also find all of our coverage of the trial and Mamtha's disappearance. Again, our Rebecca Turco is inside the courtroom and we'll have another update coming up on 7 News at 4 o'clock.