Can prosecutors prove a murder without finding a body? The trial of Naresh Bhatt in Virginia, United States, centres on this question following the disappearance of his wife, Mamta Bhatt, a 28-year-old Nepali immigrant who worked as a nurse. Mamta was last seen on 27 July 2024. She lived in Virginia with her husband, Naresh, and their daughter, Nema. Her disappearance came to light after colleagues raised concerns when she failed to report for work and lost contact with family and friends. Her last known contact was a video call with her mother in Nepal on 29 July. Naresh did not file a missing person report until nine days after her disappearance. Naresh, a former US Army Reserve logistics specialist who briefly worked as a police recruit, came under investigation. Investigators said he had allegedly searched online, months before Mamta disappeared, for information about what happens to a spouse's debt after death and how soon a person can remarry. Surveillance footage reportedly showed him buying knives and cleaning supplies. Other cameras captured him carrying heavy bags to dumpsters at different locations. Investigators also found Mamta's blood at their home and on a power saw. On 22 August 2024, Naresh was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, concealing a dead body and physical defilement of a dead body. More than two years later, Naresh stood trial for murder in Virginia and pleaded not guilty. The defence argued that there was no body and no crime scene. The prosecution's case centres on whether CCTV footage, forensic evidence and the timeline of events can establish Naresh's guilt without a body being recovered.