The search for answers in the disappearance of Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old nurse and mother from Northern Virginia, has taken another disturbing turn. As her husband, Naresh Bhatt, stands trial on murder-related charges, prosecutors have presented evidence they say links him to a power saw containing traces of Mamta’s blood and DNA. More than two years after she vanished, her body has still not been found, leaving her family and loved ones desperate for answers.

According to prosecutors, Naresh allegedly gave the power saw to a local landscaper shortly after Mamta disappeared in July 2024. The worker was doing landscaping work at a nearby home and later turned the tool over to police after learning that Mamta was missing and an investigation was underway. Forensic testing reportedly found blood on the saw that matched Mamta’s DNA, prosecutors told the court, making the item a significant part of their case.

The saw is not the only piece of forensic evidence presented during the trial. Investigators also described using Bluestar, a chemical solution that can reveal traces of blood, inside the couple’s home in Manassas Park, Virginia. Detective Claudia Ventura testified that when the lights were turned off after the solution was applied in the primary bedroom, the room appeared to light up. Prosecutors have also shown the jury photographs of suspected bloodstains, knives, zip ties and cleaning products recovered during the investigation.

Mamta was last seen on July 31, 2024. Friends became concerned when she failed to show up for work the following day, and members of the local Nepali community pushed authorities to investigate her disappearance. Naresh did not report her missing until August 5 and was arrested later that month. Investigators have alleged that Mamta was killed and her body concealed, but her remains have never been recovered.

The case has also drawn attention to the months leading up to Mamta’s disappearance. Friends previously described her as a devoted mother who would not willingly abandon her young daughter. One friend told PEOPLE that Mamta had appeared with a bruise on her face earlier in 2024. Mamta had also sought advice in an online support group for single mothers, expressing concern about threats involving custody of her child. These accounts have added to the painful questions surrounding what happened before she vanished.

Prosecutors are relying on forensic findings and other circumstantial evidence to argue that Naresh killed his wife and attempted to conceal what happened. The defense, however, has challenged aspects of the investigation and maintained that Naresh is not guilty. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including first-degree murder, defiling a dead body and concealing a dead body. The allegations presented in court have not yet been established by a verdict.

For Mamta’s family, the trial offers a chance to hear evidence and seek accountability, but it cannot undo the uncertainty they have endured since her disappearance. Their daughter, now 3 years old, is being cared for by relatives. As testimony continues, the power saw and the blood evidence described by prosecutors may become central to the jury’s assessment of the case—one that must confront a haunting question: how can a disappearance be solved when the missing person’s body has never been found?

Source: PEOPLE