Prosecutors Rely on Saw, DNA and Phone Data in Bhatt Murder Trial

Overview

• The trial continued this week in Prince William County as prosecutors showed a seized Ryobi power saw that a crime‑scene investigator said contained reddish‑brown stains and hairlike strands she believed were blood.
• Forensic testimony presented DNA from swabs of the saw and a hairbrush comparison that a state scientist said was 99.9999% likely to match the child’s biological mother and could not exclude Mamta Bhatt as a contributor.
• An FBI witness reviewed cellphone tower records and Tesla location data that generally tracked the couple together but showed multiple instances when the phone did not move with the vehicle near trash compactor sites.
• The defense has repeatedly stressed there is no recovered body, no direct murder weapon, and limits in the evidence, pointing to negative tests, uncertain timing of DNA transfer, off‑by‑an‑hour video timestamps and gaps in forensic testing.
• The judge has urged streamlined questioning as prosecutors work through more than 100 witnesses and jurors weigh how surveillance, witness accounts, forensic results and location data fit together to determine guilt and the child’s future.