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A Prince William County Circuit Court judge on Friday said she is inclined to allow audio and podcast recording devices in the courtroom for the 25-day jury trial of Naresh Bhatt this fall.
Judge Kimberly A. Irving, who is overseeing the case, said the statutory 鈥渟tarting point鈥� for media access analyses under Virginia Code聽聽is that trials are generally open to the public from a fundamental standpoint.
Bhatt is the husband of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a Manassas Park nurse and mother from Nepal whose July 2024 disappearance made international headlines.
Naresh Bhatt was arrested in connection with the alleged crime in August 2024. He has been charged with first-degree murder, concealment of a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body.
Irving said from the bench that jury selection concerns would prevent her from granting audio recording access during the initial voir dire process. Other pre-trial and preliminary hearings will also not be recorded, but Irving said 鈥渢he risk after that is minimal.鈥�
There has been no mention in court yet of cameras or visual media 鈥� though Court TV, a true-crime digital and streaming broadcast network, has聽
Discretion and due process
During a Friday morning motion hearing, Chief Public Defender Tracey Lennox 鈥� who is representing Naresh Bhatt 鈥� objected to the podcast request, arguing the case had already received 鈥渁n enormous amount of publicity.鈥�
Lennox also underscored the focus of potential recordings on the 鈥渟alacious nature of the proceedings鈥� rather than the need to honor her client鈥檚 right to due process as the defendant.
Meanwhile, Senior Assistant Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Sarah Sami said the commonwealth 鈥渢akes no position鈥� on the request.
During preliminary hearings in fall 2024, several revelations came to light as the prosecution made its case before Irving and presented some of the evidence compiled after Naresh Bhatt鈥檚 arrest.
In mid-December 2024, court documents stated there was a DNA match between Mamta鈥檚 hairbrush and a power saw. Mario Lugo, Manassas Park鈥檚 police chief, said at a Dec. 2, 2024, news conference his team believed Mamta was dismembered in her home.
At 1:30 a.m. on July 31, 2024, Bhatt was captured on video in Falls Church retrieving bags from his Tesla and putting them into a trash compactor. His Tesla tracked him to that location, but his phone was inactive and not on him at that time.
Later that day, Bhatt went to Home Depot and bought a set of knives and a 40-pack of extra-strong black trash bags.
Around 4:30 a.m. on July 30, 2024, Bhatt performed a Google search for 鈥渄iagram of brain鈥� and looked up 鈥渃hicken farm near me.鈥�
On Friday, appearing bearded and stoic in court, Naresh Bhatt listened as a Nepalese interpreter relayed Irving and Lennox鈥檚 exchanges over a live video call on a courtroom projector screen.
Adding she was bound by both Virginia statute and the U.S. Constitution, Irving told Lennox they could work out further parameters 鈥渨hen I have a [simultaneous] interpreter sitting next to you,鈥� as opposed to having to pause intermittently for the interpreter鈥檚 translation Friday via video call.
Podcast possibilities
Jake Haendel, 37, a Boston-based podcaster and terminal brain disease survivor, hosts an independent journalism production known as BLINK.
Haendel flew to Manassas specifically for Friday鈥檚 hearing, having filed the initial request for access to trial proceedings that was included in the motion.
鈥淚t feels weird to win without saying anything,鈥� Haendel told InsideNoVa following the hearing, adding that he had prepared a short letter for Irving alongside the attorneys and would refrain from posting on social media during the trial, only sharing his material after the fact.
While Haendel was not called upon to speak before Irving on Friday, he spoke with Lennox afterwards outside the courtroom and shared his satisfaction with the current direction of the case’s media access.
On the horizon
Following a remaining hearing on Aug. 13 at 9 a.m., where trial recording guidelines will be finalized by all parties, a pre-trial conference is set for Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.
After the pre-trial conference, the 25-day trial will take place Oct. 5-8, 13-15, 19-22 and 26-29; as well as Nov. 2, 4-5, 9-10, 12 and 16-19.
Friends and former colleagues of Mamta Bhatt are organizing a community vigil July 31 at 6 p.m. outside the Manassas Park police station at 329 Manassas Drive to commemorate the two-year anniversary of her disappearance. Mamta Bhatt would have been 30 in May.
