MANASSAS PARK, Va. (7News) — As the legal process continues for Naresh Bhatt, who is charged with concealing the body of missing Manassas Park mother Mamta Kafle Bhatt, many friends and community members are keeping a close eye on another potential legal battle: custody for Mamta's 1-year-old daughter.

As a custody law expert and National Family Violence Law Center Professor at The George Washington University Law School, Joan Meier told 7News she knows how emotionally draining custody battles can be.

"Absolutely agonizing," Meier said. "I can't imagine being the grandparents."

Last month, Mamta's mother arrived in the U.S. from Nepal.

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However, Meier said there is a straightforward argument for Mamta's mother to gain at least temporary custody of the baby.

"There's a concept of 'kinship care,' which is very significant in cases where there's a need for foster families. If the grandparents are here and they want the baby, I think it would be extremely reasonable and not difficult for a court to decide they can care for the baby even if he maintains some rights while he's in prison," Meier said. "Somebody has to take care of this baby in the interim, and I think any reasonable court would say, 'If the grandparents are ready to take care of it, by all means.'"

However, Meier said the baby's father could throw a wrench in any such plans.

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Prosecutors stated in court documents Naresh Bhatt murdered his wife, even though her body still has not been found.

Even though Naresh is in jail, he can still legally fight for custody.

"Where it becomes complicated is if he's fighting for custody, denying he murdered her, which I'm sure he will do. If he's fighting for custody, he has a greater right under the law than the grandparents do. Then it becomes, potentially, a contested trial. Even while he's in prison, he can still litigate a case, potentially, if he hasn't been convicted," Meier said. "I think that gets very messy and sticky. It could almost become an O.J. Simpson case, where whoever is trying to get the baby who isn't him - say, it's the grandparents - will have to sort of litigate the murder in a civil context."

The last time the public saw Mamta's baby, she was being carried out of the family home by a social services worker.

Since then, the baby has been placed in the temporary custody of a family friend.

"If the family friend wants custody, wants to keep the baby, I could see there potentially being a battle between the family friend and the grandparents, if the grandparents want the baby. If the grandparents are not prepared to try and move, and live, in the U.S., and they're saying, 'We want the baby and we want to bring it back to Nepal, then the court is trying to weigh that against the family friend who wants the baby who is here. Again, I wouldn't see why a court would favor a family friend in the U.S. over family in Nepal," Meier said.

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If neither Mamta's husband nor family friend makes a claim to gain custody of her daughter, Meier said it's likely an easy decision for a judge to provide temporary custody to her mother.

However, if a custody battle should arise, she said it would depend on who the judge is.

"There's no 'black-and-white' here," Meier said. "It seems to me a very reasonable decision for the court to make, 'You're the grandparents, you love the baby, hopefully, they've had some contact with the baby since it was born, so there's some sense of connection and tie. Go bring the baby back to your home while we figure out what's happening to the father.' Maybe they would require them to sign something that says to come back in six months for the next hearing."

Naresh Bhatt's next court hearing is at 10 a.m. on Thursday.