MANASSAS, Virginia (7News) – Naresh Bhatt, the Manassas Park man accused of his wife’s disappearance and death, returned tocourt for a hearing Thursday morning.

7News has been following the case of Naresh, 37, and his wife.Mamta Kafle Bhatt for months.

Naresh was arrested for Mamta’s disappearance and charged with prohibition of concealing a dead body. Mamta disappeared at the end of July and police assume she is dead. The defense has claimed that Mamta could still be alive and missing.

SCHEDULE:

• The young mother was last seen at work on July 27.
• Police said Naresh told them he last saw her on July 31.
• A welfare check was carried out on August 2.
• Naresh did not report her missing until three days later.
• Police arrested Naresh on August 22.

His public defender is working to get him out of jail, while prosecutors are working to keep him there.

Thursday’s hearing was supposed to be a Franks v. Delaware hearing, where the defense would have sought to annul Naresh’s arrest warrantalleging that police used a “false statement” to obtain it, so there was no probable cause to arrest him.

But at the beginning of the hearing, Shalev Ben-Avraham, his public defender, proposed withdrawing the motion, citing conversations with prosecutors on Wednesday and saying he could potentially refile it at another date. He said concessions were made possible that could be more beneficial to his client.

Judge Kimberly Irving expressed concern about rescheduling if a new motion is filed, saying finding a Nepali interpreter required many calls.

“We are very limited in our time right now,” he told Ben-Avraham.

Ben-Avraham did not elaborate on any possible concessions made.

“You’re being a little cryptic here,” Judge Irving said.

The prosecution raised no objections so the judge agreed to withdraw the motion for Thursday’s hearing. Naresh’s next court date is a pretrial hearing scheduled for November 20.

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7News previously spoke with John Fishwick, a former federal prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney, to gain insight.

“The judge is not going to dismiss the case because of this small error in the arrest warrant,” Fishwick said. “There is a lot of other evidence in that arrest warrant, not just this detail. Therefore, it is a great effort for the defense in any type of case.”

Last month, the Commonwealth subpoenaed records from the couple’s employers. Fishwick said this is likely to set out a detailed timeline.

Mamta’s disappearance has sparked an outpouring of support from the Nepali and Northern Virginia community, with many calling for justice.

His supporters gathered at each court hearing and spoke outside the courthouse Thursday morning.

Bina Khadkalama called the recent hearings called by the defense a “distraction.”

She said that although she is worried and anxious, she is confident that “whatever time the Commonwealth is given, they have been using it and working very hard.”

Khadkalama and other supporters hope he will be charged with capital murder.

A pretrial hearing is set for Nov. 20. the trial is ready to begin in December.