Murder trial begins for Virginia man accused of dismembering wife

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Naresh Bhatt, 39, charged with murdering and dismembering his wife, Mamta Kafle Bhatt, whose body has never been found. Investigators found human hairs and fibers on a power saw in the couple's home, and prosecutors allege a spike in water usage around the time of her disappearance is tied to cleanup, while a trained cadaver dog was also used in the investigation.

Bhatt had publicly appealed for help finding his wife days before police arrested him on charges of concealing her body, later adding murder and defiling-a-body charges. Prosecutors describe a pattern of controlling behavior, including threats to send her back to Nepal and physical abuse designed to avoid leaving marks, and plan to present messages in which she asked her brother to preserve evidence her husband could delete from her phone. The trial is expected to run six to seven weeks in Prince William County Circuit Court.

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