'365 Days of Silence': Friends and Supporters of Mamta Bhatt Share a Heartbreaking Year

A Year of Pain and Uncertainty

During a peaceful gathering early Sunday in front of the Prince William County judicial center in Manassas, Sunita Basnet took a moment to reflect on the past 365 days. The event marked the one-year anniversary of the day Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a nurse and mother from Manassas Park, was last seen at UVA Prince William Medical Center, where she worked. She was last heard from on July 29, 2024, when she spoke to her mother, Gita Kafle, during their final video call. The pair had a habit of speaking twice a day while Kafle was still living in Nepal.

Basnet, who was Mamta’s former nursing mentor, described feeling "emotionally traumatized" by her mentee's disappearance. Bhatt’s husband, Naresh Bhatt, was eventually arrested in the case and has been charged with first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and physical defilement of a dead body. Wearing red alongside fellow supporters to honor Mamta’s favorite color, Basnet shared that she arranged a transfer to a new hospital shortly after Mamta’s disappearance.

"I changed my job at the hospital," Basnet said, "because it was very painful for me to stay in the same unit where I shared my time with Mamta and [when she] shared her story. I saw the bruises there, and I advised her to get out from that domestic violence."

She added, "I have all the memories following me, so I have to change my job [to] another hospital … I couldn't sleep and I gained a lot of weight, and I was kind of depressed, too, very sad. So I am trying to get away from that emotional trauma as well."

Trial Delays and Frustration

Sunday’s gathering also served as a protest against Circuit Court Judge Kimberly A. Irving’s decision to delay Naresh Bhatt’s trial until October 2026. This came at the request of Bhatt’s attorney, Shalev Ben-Avraham, with agreement from prosecutors Matthew Sweet and Sarah Sami. While Ben-Avraham initially supported a July 2026 trial date, Sweet and Sami preferred three months later due to scheduling conflicts.

Bina Khadkalama, a Nepali community member and spokesperson who keeps the community informed through TikTok videos, expressed frustration at the delay. "We're disappointed, we're sad, we're very mad, we're furious," she said. "We're in limbo, like – what can we do? Because culturally and religiously, the family wanted to have closure and do some rituals that we're supposed to do … we want that official something declared that she's no longer, so they can do some rituals. That's a huge part of their life."

Basnet echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the importance of closure. "We are not able to do the rituals, say final goodbye to her," she said. "In this religion, we have to give her some kind of closure and say goodbye for her divine life. So it is very painful, and it is very painful for her mother. I see a lot of pain in her mother's eyes and her brother."

Holly Wirth, a former coworker and advocate for Mamta, acknowledged the legal rationale behind the delay but felt emotionally conflicted. "I have to trust the justice system," she said. "But at the end of the day, I think watching Judge Irving's reaction and her reluctance to grant this long of a continuance really speaks volumes to the fact that even the judge didn't want to do this – I think that's all the validation I needed."

Early Days in Court

Naresh Bhatt was arrested on August 22 in connection with the disappearance of his wife and charged with concealing a dead body. He was arraigned on December 4 on the murder and defilement charges, as well as the prior concealment charge. Despite over 50 searches conducted by Manassas Park police since last fall, Mamta Kafle Bhatt's body or remains have not been located.

During preliminary hearings last fall, several revelations emerged as the prosecution presented evidence compiled after Bhatt's arrest. These included surveillance footage showing Bhatt discarding trash bags, a Google search for "Diagram of brain," and a purchase of knives and black trash bags. Additionally, court documents revealed a DNA match between Mamta's hairbrush and a power saw. Police chief Mario Lugo stated that the team believed Mamta was dismembered in her home.

Initially scheduled for September of this year, Bhatt’s trial is now planned for six weeks between October 5 and November 13, 2026, with a pre-trial conference set for September 10, 2026. At the July 18 hearing, Judge Irving directed both sides to block off an additional week through November 19, 2026, in case the trial needs to be extended.

365 Days with No Answers

Speaking on behalf of Mamta's family, Wirth highlighted the emotional toll of the case's uncertainty. "It's heartbreaking," she said. "They never have exactly understood what happened to Mamta. They don't have her, they can't grieve her. They can't have the death rituals for her because we don't have her body. We suspect we know who could tell us, but he is not wanting to do that. So it's going to be a really hard year to think they've gone 365 days with really no answers."

Mamta's mother and brother arrived in the U.S. in October to care for her daughter, Neema, who will turn 2 on August 20. Nadia Navarro, who became Mamta’s roommate in Fairfax County after she arrived in the U.S. from Nepal in 2021, described the shock of learning about the initial concealment charge against Bhatt.

"My first question to the police, I said, ‘Are you 100% sure that you know she is no longer with us?' They were like 99% sure. I'm still in shock and really not processing this well," Navarro said after Bhatt's arrest. In a recent phone interview, she spoke about the bond she shared with Mamta and how it lives on within her.

"I feel like there's a hole in my heart where Mamta used to be," Navarro said. "I try to get by, I try to do what I can to move on and continue with my life, but it's really hard whenever there are these dates – like her birthday [on May 28] was excruciating. She didn't ever get to turn 29, she didn't get to see her daughter turn 1 year. She'll never get to see that."

Navarro added, "Not having any answers, not knowing where she is – I never thought we would be so in the dark a year later, right?"

Julia Kosatka, a Gainesville resident, attended Sunday's gathering and expressed support for the defense's efforts. "I am all for the defense mounting a really good case, because I don't want a mistrial," she said. "And that's why we're here. We're here to say this is a long delay. It probably shouldn't be this long, but we're going to be here."