Trial attorney discusses pivot by defense in Naresh Bhatt murder trial

Up first, a Fox 5 News alert. Naresh Bhatt found guilty on all counts, including first-degree murder of his wife, Mamta Koffel. The jury handing down the verdict tonight. The jury find the accused, Naresh Bhatt, guilty of first-degree murder, signed for person juror number 79, dated November 10, 2026. In addition to first-degree murder, he was also convicted of concealing and tampering with a dead body and physically defiling a dead body, all in a case where the victim's body was never found. Our Homa Bash was in the courtroom when the verdict came down. She joins us live with a breakdown of what happened in court. Homa. Keisha, we're just heading back from the Prince William County Courthouse right now. And this was a trial that lasted six weeks, a guilty verdict that came in just four hours. But two years of an emotional roller coaster for so many who loved and knew Mamta Koffel. Naresh was found guilty of murder by a jury of eight women, four men. It has been so emotional. So many gruesome details revealed about how Mamta died, how Naresh admitted to cutting her body with a saw, disposing of it in dumpsters. His internet searches were so concerning. This case has captured the attention of the entire Manassas and Prince William County community and beyond, well into Nepal, where many supporters and family members of Mamta have flown in from. For two years, they have been desperate for answers as to what happened to 28-year-old Mamta, who is a nurse, a mother, a woman who is on her way to becoming a U.S. citizen. Her daughter, just 11 months old when her mother vanished, weeks away from turning a year old. Supporters cheered when that verdict came down, and we need to listen to what they had to say right after. We're not surprised. For those who were close to the family and for those who had so many proofs already, we were not surprised that he dismembered Mamta, and we were certain and sure that he killed Mamta. And today, nobody can undo that. How cruelly he stole Mamta from all of us, from this world. But at least now we are happy that the justice has been served. Maybe I could sleep better tonight. We can all sleep better tonight. Yes. What a peace in my heart. I don't know what I saw today. It was unbelievable, unexpected, overwhelmingly good news that we already knew from like two years back. Yeah, those answers that they were hoping for finally coming today. You heard a lot of people say justice for Mamta, justice for the Nepali community has been served. Naresh Bhatt is facing life in prison. He'll be sentenced in March, hopefully to give some time for her family to fly back and forth from Nepal to be here for that. We did see Mamta's mother who has been in the courtroom. We saw her walk out. We understand she was on her way to pick up Her granddaughter, Mamta's daughter. Again, who was just 11 months old when her mom disappeared, killed by her father. Again, a lot of relief in the Nepali community tonight and for Mamta's loved ones getting that guilty verdict. Homa, thanks so much. Let's dive deeper into the case and the jury's verdict. Trial attorney Mike Hollingsworth is joining us live now. He previously worked with the lead public defender here. Mike, thanks so much for being here. You, I think, anticipated this outcome. What stood out to you the most in this case? Well, I did anticipate it, but what stood out the most was the pivot by the defense. I mean, to go from giving an opening statement, talking about how the Commonwealth won't be able to fill the void with merely circumstantial evidence and making that the theme of your case, and then when it's the defense's turn to... Not only put the defendant on the stand, which is always a big deal, but to then have him testify that she was dead the entire time, he knew this the entire time, and then took it upon himself to brutally and gruesomely dismember this poor woman's body in his own home and stuff it into the garbage and all that he did. It's just... I think, look, they didn't have a great defense to work with, to begin with, but the case was over as soon as he said that. And Michael, he admitted to dismembering and concealing the body of his wife, but then said repeatedly on the stand that he did not kill her. That seemed to be a tough sell to jurors. They obviously didn't buy it. Obviously, obviously not. And who would? It's such a self-serving, pathetic effort to, you know, try to maintain some sort of, you know, posture that he's innocent of the major charge, but will certainly acknowledge the lesser charge and some hope that the jury will. Hang on to that and maybe give him, you know, the five or 10 years that come with the charges on the body and then avoid the first degree murder. It's really just not giving any credit at all whatsoever to the folks on the jury who gave up all their time to sit there for all those weeks and then to try to serve them that. It's frankly, it's insulting. And if I was a juror, I'd be insulted. And the RushBots team will most likely appeal this verdict. Michael, can you walk us through those next step in this case and then also talk about sentencing? He'll most likely get life in prison. Sure. So in Virginia, a defendant has... Automatic right to appeal to the Virginia Court of Appeals. They must take the case on appeal, but he has no chance on appeal. There's nothing to appeal. The only thing, look, that he might have had, and I'm not saying he had it, okay, but if you remember the beginning when the defense moved for a postponement of the trial in September, claiming that they weren't ready because of a change in attorneys and they hadn't reviewed any of the discovery, this, that, and the other, They actually were kind of setting up maybe... Okay, this might be an ineffective assistance of counsel situation. If you force us to go to trial, this guy's not going to have a fair shake. Set that up. But then once you do what you do by testifying, all of that's out the window. And then this plays into sentencing as well, because let me tell you, I know Judge Irving well, and I can't say what she definitely will do, but let me tell you, to pivot to that defense and to get up there and take the oath. I am telling the truth, so help me God, or whatever it is, right? And then to tell that story, that is not going to help him at all, at all. Any hope he had, which there probably wasn't much if he was convicted, but any hope he had of leniency, out the window, as far as I'm concerned. Pretty incredible. Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia-based trial attorney Mike Hollingsworth, thank you so much for your insight. You got it. Turning to the weather now.