An Oklahoma doctor has been taken into custody on suspicion of killing her 4-year-old daughter while they were on vacation in Florida and trying to make it look like a drowning incident, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. Dr. Neha Gupta, a pediatrician from Oklahoma, was arrested on Monday and is facing a first-degree murder charge. She is accused of suffocating her daughter, Aria Talathi, and attempting to cover it up as a drowning, as stated by the sheriff’s office in a press release on Wednesday.
On June 27, at around 3:41 a.m. local time, authorities responded to a home in El Portal, Florida, following a report of an unresponsive 4-year-old found in a swimming pool, according to a police affidavit obtained by ABC News. Gupta, 36, directed officers to the backyard where they discovered the child submerged in the pool’s deep end. Despite attempts to revive her, the child was pronounced dead at 4:28 a.m. after being taken to a nearby hospital.
Gupta informed officials that she and her daughter had traveled from Edmond, Oklahoma, to Miami and were staying at a temporary rental home booked through AirBnB where the tragic incident occurred. Her ex-husband, Dr. Saurabh Talathi, stated that he was unaware of the child leaving Oklahoma and mentioned an ongoing custody dispute between the parents, according to the affidavit.
Prior to the incident, Gupta and her daughter arrived at the rental property on June 26 and the child, who had been tired from a day of activities, fell asleep before dinner. Gupta claimed she discovered her daughter missing around 3:20 a.m. and found her submerged in the pool, attempting unsuccessfully to rescue her due to her lack of swimming skills. Subsequent investigations revealed that the child did not drown, and evidence pointed to the cause of death being asphyxiation by smothering, with signs of bruising and cuts on the child’s face.
The autopsy report indicated that the child’s lungs and stomach were dry, ruling out drowning, and further details suggested that the child had died before being placed in the pool.
A 7-year-old daughter, identified as DA, was found lifeless. The affidavit revealed that the 4-year-old girl’s stomach was empty, despite the mother claiming she had eaten dinner hours before the incident. Authorities then determined that the mother, Gupta, had allegedly tried to cover up her daughter’s death by simulating an accidental drowning in a swimming pool.
An Oklahoma doctor has been taken into custody by the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office for the murder of her 4-year-old daughter. After obtaining an arrest warrant, detectives traveled to Oklahoma City with local assistance to apprehend Gupta. She is awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade County where she will face first-degree murder charges. It remains unknown if Gupta has legal representation at this time.
