No social media: Judge has order before jury selection in Mamta Bhatt murder trial

Details in this report are disturbing.

Was Northern Virginia mother, nurse and wife Mamta Bhatt killed by her husband? Jury selection in his murder trial began Monday.

Naresh Bhatt is accused of killing and dismembering his wife in July 2024. She disappeared from their home in Manassas Park, and her body has never been found.

Dozens of potential jurors was summoned to the Prince William County courthouse. Before they were asked any questions, the judge had orders for them: She told them to take out their phones, turn off notifications and delete every social media app and news outlet app.

The judge said she did so in exchange for the decision not to have jurors sequestered during the trial, which is expected to last about seven weeks. She said she didn’t want jurors to even accidentally see information on the case on social media or from news outlets.

She has said she wants to make sure potential jurors are not influenced to serve or not serve because it would be televised.

The prosecution is expected to paint a picture of a man abusing his wife emotionally and possibly physically. They have said Naresh Bhatt bought three kitchen knives from a local store; two were recovered and one was never found. They say he dismembered his wife using tools in the family’s garage.

Prosecutors say they have video showing Bhatt dropping large, heavy-duty garbage bags into dumpsters and trash compactors throughout Northern Virginia. They believe Mamta Bhatt’s remains were in the bags.

The defense is expected to argue that prosecutors have little evidence.

Bhatt has maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, defiling a dead body and concealment of a dead body. He has changed attorneys over the past two years and tried to get his current public defender removed from his case as recently as last month.

He told the judge just before his arraignment that he’s not ready for trial and wants the judge to recuse herself. The judge denied his motion for recusal and said the trial is moving forward.

Video cameras will be allowed in the courtroom, but live broadcasting and livestreaming will not be allowed. The judge is expected to give information Monday on the delay she’ll require between something happening in the courtroom and when the public can watch it.

The Bhatts’ daughter, who is now 3 years old, is being cared for by relatives.

The Manassas Park community is leaning on each other amid developments in the case of missing woman Mamta Kafle Bhatt. News4’s Derrick Ward reports.