Bal Khadka pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Lila Darjee Khadka.

Tuesday's pleas are not guilty. The second-degree murder count and the three cruelty counts are what the state has to prove. The affidavit's account of a flashlight, a recording, and children in the apartment is the charging narrative. A prior abuse-prevention conviction is a different case. The Oct. 26 hearing is the next date, not a trial.

WPTZ and Seven Days reported that Bal Khadka, 44, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Chittenden County Superior Court in Burlington to second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Lila Darjee Khadka. Seven Days styled his name Bal B. Khadka. The Boston Globe reported she was 44. WPTZ and Seven Days reported he also faces three counts of cruelty to a child and is held without bail. The Globe reported public defender Stacie Johnson entered the pleas. A not-guilty plea is the defense position at arraignment. It is not a finding.

WPTZ, citing court documents, reported the alleged attack was early Saturday inside an apartment on South Champlain Street, that investigators say he accused her of cheating, and that he is accused of striking her in the head about 10 times with a large flashlight. Seven Days reported the address as the Bobbin Mill Apartments and that officers were sent there after reports of screams. The Globe reported Detective Corporal Erica Schaller of the Burlington Police Department swore to an affidavit describing the scene. Those are the charging papers. They are not a verdict.

WPTZ reported three children, ages 3 through 10, were in the apartment, and that the two older children escaped through a window and sought help. Seven Days reported the two 10-year-olds were the couple's daughter and a friend who was staying over, and that officers found Khadka trying to put shoes on his 3-year-old daughter. The children are not named here. WPTZ reported one of the children recorded audio of what investigators believe was the attack. Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George told WPTZ, "The audio recording is one of the worst things I think I've ever heard." The Globe reported police found Lila Khadka unresponsive on the bed, that she was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center for an emergency craniotomy, and that she was pronounced dead just after 7 p.m. Sunday. Seven Days reported she died Sunday evening, about 36 hours after the attack. A time of death is a medical fact in the reporting. It does not identify who struck her.

WPTZ reported court records show Khadka was previously convicted of violating an abuse prevention order, and that George said charges in at least one earlier case were dropped after Lila Khadka did not want to testify. Seven Days reported George said that earlier domestic-violence case was dismissed after she decided not to participate. A dismissed case is not a finding about Saturday. George told Seven Days the arraignment fell during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and that "Women are more likely to be killed by their domestic partners than anybody else, and we're not doing enough to protect communities." The Globe reported he is held at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in Swanton and is due back in court Oct. 26. WPTZ reported that Oct. 26 date is a weight-of-the-evidence hearing. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.