A shocking domestic homicide unfolded early Monday morning in Fairfax County, Virginia, where 50-year-old Chhatra Bahadur Thapa fatally stabbed his wife and daughter inside their Persimmon Drive apartment using a 10-inch blade.
Police responded to reports of domestic violence around 5:15 a.m. Upon arrival, officers discovered a scene described by Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis as “beyond imagination—gruesome and horrific.”
Thapa’s son-in-law, 35-year-old Santosh Kumar Basnet, called 911 after hearing a commotion while clearing snow from his car outside. Rushing inside, Basnet found his 31-year-old wife, Mamta Thapa, and his 51-year-old mother-in-law, Binda Thapa, in pools of blood.
Thapa then turned the weapon on Basnet, who sustained critical injuries. Arriving officers encountered Thapa actively attacking Basnet and repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon. When he refused, an officer fired, killing Thapa at the scene.
A one-year-old infant in the home was unharmed. Investigators found no prior criminal history or police reports involving the family. The motive behind this tragic violence remains under investigation as police reach out to relatives.
This violence follows another devastating incident from June 5, 2025, which left the Manassas Park community in shock after a Nepali family of four was found dead in an apparent murder-suicide.
The Manassas Park Police Department responded to a welfare check at a residence in the 9400 block of Lanae Lane, following a request from a homeowner concerned about his tenants.
Upon entering the downstairs apartment, officers discovered the bodies of 38-year-old Santosh Pariyar, 36-year-old Anju Shrestha, and their two children—an 8-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy. All had died from apparent gunshot wounds.
The community also continues to seek justice for Mamta Kafle Bhatt, a 28-year-old nurse and mother from Manassas Park who was reported missing in August 2024. Her last known contact was a video call with her mother in Nepal on July 29, 2024.
While her remains have not been found, her husband, Naresh Bhatt, was arrested in August 2024. He was later indicted by a grand jury on charges of murder, concealing a dead body, and physically defiling a dead body. Prosecutors cited forensic evidence, including DNA from blood found in the family home, to support the charges.
Girija Adhikari
View More PostsGirija Adhikari is a Nepali journalist, author, and press freedom advocate with over two decades of experience. He has worked with leading Nepali radio stations and publications, authored several books and poetry collections, and received top honors, including the Janasewa Shree award from the Government of Nepal. A former central committee member of the Nepal Press Union, he continues to champion independent journalism.
