Bhatt murder trial: Prosecution expected to rest case

Prosecution is expected to rest his case today in the murder trial of Naresh Bhat. The trial is now entering week five in Prince William County. So I'm going to get out to Fox 5 Stephanie Ramirez. She's live outside of the courthouse with next steps. Morning. Yeah, Marissa, good morning. So now once the... Prosecution arrests their case. It will be the defense's turn to present any evidence or witnesses. Of course, the big question is whether they're going to put the defendant, Naresh Bhatt, on the stand. It is also their right not to. And also, the jury cannot hold that against the defendant. Now, Naresh Bhatt, as we've been reporting, he is on trial accused of murdering his wife, Mamta Kafli Bhatt, in Manassas Park back in the summer of 2024. He's also accused of dismembering her body. To this day, her remains have not been found. The jury heard and saw some compelling evidence in the past two weeks. This included seeing the Ryobi sawzall that prosecutors say showed blood and hair fragments inside. The county's deputy Commonwealth attorney called this a murder weapon in opening arguments. The prosecution also showed text messages of Naresh Bhatt appearing to argue with his wife. And speaking to another about wanting a Colombian girl, the prosecution telling the court it spoke to Naresh Bhat's motive of wanting to kill his wife because he was ready to move on. The jury also heard significant testimony from a Prince William County forensics investigator showing Bhat's mobile Google searches. Here's some of that again. One was meat cutter. There was one knife sharpener at Dollar Tree. Can I divorce if wife lost? Can I change my mind after selling my car at CarMax? Were there any searches talking about donations? Can I donate my baby to my friend? There were searches also related to applying for a baby's passport. Now, prior to this, other important evidence included surveillance video appearing to show butt wearing gloves and throwing away bags at Two different apartment complex trash locations. The defense has made several arguments, objections throughout the trial, including that communication between the couple's native Nepali language or in the couple's native Nepali language may not have been translated properly. They also called into question a hairbrush said to belong to Mamta Kaplebat that was used in DNA comparison and testing. Now, once the defense rests their case, then this will go to the jury for deliberations. Around 9 o'clock is when things are expected to get underway today. See you guys.