Bhatt internet searches revealed; Neighbor charged in man's death

The 6th begins with damning digital evidence in the case against Naresh Bhat, day 13 of the Prince William County murder trial. Today, prosecutors showed the jury incriminating online searches, including how to get rid of the child he shared with his now-missing wife, Monta Kafle. Fox 5's Homa Bash has the new developments from the newsroom tonight. Homa. Kenneth, Angie, the digital deep dive is disturbing, to say the very least, a forensic investigator saying that in March, months before Monta went missing, Naresh Bhat googled things like what happens if a spouse disappears. They also discovered searches about meat cutters, hand saws for wood cutting, and knife sharpeners at Dollar Tree. And then there's this, perhaps most shocking, about the one-year-old baby he shared with Monta at the time. Were there any searches talking about donations? Can I donate my baby to my friend? There were searches also related to applying for a baby's passport. Can you see what's on that man's hands at this time? Again, it looks like there is a change of color between arms and hands, so it's possible that the individual is wearing gloves. Jurors also saw video that investigators say is Naresh putting on gloves, dumping small bags of trash from out of the trunk of a Tesla multiple times to multiple dumpsters. There were also Google searches about melatonin dosing for both adults and children, as well as travel from India, Delhi to Dallas. Investigators say Bhat changed Monta's contact name in his phone to bad memory at some point with a running emoji after it. And also read messages between Naresh and another person discussing finding another woman to marry in the future. The defense challenging how reliably the digital evidence can be interpreted, saying some of those searches did not contain timestamps. So investigators cannot determine exactly when they happened or in what order. For many of these, you don't know when the searches happened. That's right. You don't know physically where they might have been when they were doing these searches. That's correct. You don't know why they're searching for these items. Correct. Investigators also testifying that Naresh Bhat made eight outgoing calls to his wife after she disappeared. Manta was a pediatric nurse and was also in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. She missed her initial interview, which was set for August 5th, 2024. she was last seen on July 29. Naresh Bhat is charged with first-degree murder, concealing and defiling a dead body. That trial continues tomorrow for day 14. Kenneth. New this hour, a Sterling woman arrested after the drowning death of her eight-month-old child, Rosalina Pisani, is facing homicide, child abuse and endangerment charges. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office says the mother left her child in the bathtub alone with running water last month. Deputies say two other children were in the home. A missing persons case in Alexandria takes a turn when police find a man dead inside of an apartment. Tonight, we're learning one of his neighbors is in custody. Fox 5's Shireen Richey is live in the Alexandria neighborhood where the victim's body was found. Shireen, what can you tell us? Yeah, Angie, kind of disturbing and tragic. This all started when the family of a 44-year-old requested a welfare check on their son who lives in this neighborhood because they hadn't heard from them. Police say that that concern then led to a missing persons case and then a homicide investigation. And detectives went to question a man who also lives in the same neighborhood. They say when they arrived at his door, he immediately confessed to the crime. When they opened that door, the suspect gave an immediate confession. They brought him back here to our police station to find out additional details. What I can tell you is I don't fully know their relationship, but they were drinking at an Alexandria restaurant. They went to several other locations and purchased some alcohol and ended back up in that apartment. Yeah, police have identified the victim as 44-year-old Joshua Cochran of Alexandria. His family first contacted police over the weekend, worried because they hadn't heard from him. Officers checked his apartment off Merton Court Monday, but he wasn't there. The next day, with his car still parked outside and no word from him, police escalated the case to a critical missing person investigation. Detectives then started retracing Cochran's last known movements. Surveillance video showed him drinking with another man at local restaurants before the two ended up at an apartment. Police say they eventually found Cochran's body inside a closet with severe blunt force injuries to his head. The suspect, 63-year-old John Stremble III, is now charged with second degree murder. Virginia State Police records show the suspect is a registered sex offender with convictions dating back to 2014. Neighbors who knew the suspect are stunned. It's absolutely insane. This guy was a neighbor. I've talked with him several times, had beers with him a couple of times. Extremely shocking. And just to know that he was sitting out here whenever he had a deceased body inside his house is just wild. He seemed very chill. Like, we would talk about stuff in the apartment complex. I always say hey to him in the morning. So, like, it's kind of crazy that he could have done something like that. Again, this is an active investigation. They're trying to figure out the object that was used in this assault, how the two actually knew each other, and what led up to this killing. Angie Kenneth. Thank you, Sharon. Then also in Alexandria, the city shutting down all 61 flock license plate cameras by tomorrow night. This following months of public backlash, the city plans to remove the cameras completely by December and require city council approval for any future surveillance technology. This all came about after people voiced privacy concerns. Police touted the cameras, claiming they helped lead to 72 felony and 65 misdemeanor charges over the past year. All right, let's turn our attention to the weather here. that picture perfect pinnacle continues as you take a live look at the National Harbor from our Fox 5 Sky Cam, how dare they, how dare they those clouds try to move in and creep into my sky they started a little earlier than i thought oh yeah and it was like what's happening where's that sun i've been so accustomed to the perfect weather day day after day it's a little unusual it still was okay guys it was okay come on but you know there's something wrong if i'm saying if i'm advocating for fall. Right. I know. It's been fall this year, I think. I really am. It's been nice. I mean, it's been so beautiful, you guys. And we'll be right back into the sunshine in the 70s tomorrow afternoon. This was just a one-day deviation from perfection and still was, honestly, a pretty nice day. Temperatures were still above normal. We averaged a high of 65 by this point in October. We hit 69 at Reagan, 67 at Dulles, 65 at BWI. So we're closing down midweek here. Dry pattern continues it's going to roll into the weekend and well into next week much of next week we'll see 59 in Gaithersburg right now 61 in Westminster 62 in Annapolis 64 in Quantico 63 in Culpeper and there's that cloud cover that kind of rolled in throughout the day now not bringing anything else with it meaning no showers expected however overnight tonight things will stay pretty overcast and fog is likely to develop especially along and east of 95 it was kind of patchy this morning but it will reduce some visibility for the drive-in that fog will take a couple hours to burn off and as you can see on our planner by about mid-morning skies break we're into sunshine by noon and then as a risk as a result temperatures will respond and rise into the low 70s so the hot fog will hold us back just a touch tomorrow not the case on friday we're into the mid 70s cooler and cloudier for the weekend but halloween is still looking great we'll have the latest on that coming up angie back to you thank you caitlin east potomac golf links could shut down in mid November. New court filings today showing the interior departments developing a plan to close the course as President Trump calls for it to be completely redesigned. Well, there's been an ongoing legal fight over the development with golfers and preservation groups suing to stop the construction. A federal judge blocking the administration from removing or damaging more trees after hundreds were removed earlier this month. Six days into the midterms, big names back on the campaign trail trying to rally their base. President Trump is in Ohio tonight after speaking alongside Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton yesterday. Meanwhile, former President Obama rallying for Democrats in Georgia. This comes as early voting wraps up across the country. You can find the final day to cast your vote early at Fox5DC.com. D.C. Councilmember Robert White is poised to resign ahead of Election Day. White is running for D.C. delegate, but a little-known provision bans current officeholders from taking that role. In a new statement today, White says he reads the law differently and is looking for a way to stay on the council until after the election. But he says if he can't find a clear legal fix, he will step down by Monday. A consumer alert tonight. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged this month despite stubbornly high inflation. And this follows a quarter percentage point rate hike from last month. Now, the Fed's benchmark rate staying in the 3.75 percent to 4 percent range after voting to raise it despite President Trump's demands for a cut. Today, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh says the central bank will vote on rates at seven of eight meetings next year. More ahead on the six, a burglary spree bust thieves accused of targeting fire ravaged homes. That's ahead at 6:30. Schools shut down. What we're learning about an illness outbreak that's keeping local elementary students at home. And social media companies on trial. The owners of Facebook and Snapchat sued their alleged impacts on teens. And our Tom Fitzgerald standing by live in Northwest D.C. tonight to tell us what he's got coming up. Hi, Fitz. Kenneth, good evening. Justice in jeopardy. A warning today from D.C. judges that some cases are being delayed and people's property and livelihood are being put at risk because there aren't enough pro bono attorneys in the district. We'll explain when Fox 5 continues right after this.