Oklahoma Pediatrician Accused of Staging 4-Year-Old Daughter's Drowning to Cover Up Her Murder: Police
Dr. Neha Gupta was taken into custody in Oklahoma City and will be extradited to Florida, where she faces charges of first-degree murder, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office
A June 29 autopsy called Gupta's story about her death into questionAn Oklahoma pediatrician has been arrested and will be extradited to Florida on suspicions that she is responsible for the murder of her 4-year-old daughter.
In a Wednesday, July 2, press release, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office confirmed that Dr. Neha Gupta had been taken into custody in Oklahoma with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service and the Oklahoma City Police Department and is set to be charged with first-degree murder.
Gupta, 36, has been accused of murdering her daughter Aria Talathi, 4, and staging it to look like an accidental drowning, per CBS News.
According to the sheriff's office press release, first responders from the Village of El Portal Police Department and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to reports of "drowning child in a residential pool." The child was discovered "unresponsive" and taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Police said Gupta and her daughter had traveled from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and were staying at a short-term rental at the time of the incident.
The alleged drowning took place in the early hours of Friday, June 27, according to an arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE from the sheriff's office.
Gupta reportedly told police she and her daughter were asleep when she heard a loud noise around 3:20 a.m. She told the authorities that she woke up and noticed that the sliding door in the room was open, and once she walked outside she saw her daughter in the water.
She allegedly said that she attempted to rescue her daughter herself before calling for help as she was unable to swim. The call was made around 3:40 a.m.
First responders reported that Aria was "submerged in the deep end of the swimming pool" when they arrived. She was pronounced dead at Jackson Memorial Hospital around 4:28 a.m., according to the arrest warrant.
A June 29 autopsy called Gupta's story into question. No water was found in Aria's lungs or stomach, which would have been evidence that she died via drowning.
Instead, doctors found "cuts within the mouth and bruising within the cheeks" that were not related to life-saving services rendered after she was pulled from the pool. An official cause of death has not yet been determined; however, the arrest warrant reported that "the injuries are consistent with asphyxiation by smothering."
The autopsy also called Gupta's recounting of the previous day into question. She said that she and Aria ate dinner around 9 p.m. However, the girl's stomach was "empty."
"Furthermore, 'the subject' attempted to conceal the killing of the 'deceased victim' by staging an accidental drowning within the swimming pool of a rental property," the arrest document reads.
Speaking to PEOPLE, Gutpa's attorney Richard L. Cooper said, "Dr Gupta was involved in a nasty divorce case but was otherwise compliant with court orders. My client had multiple opportunities to flee but instead stayed and cooperated with law enforcement, answered all their questions, etc. My client feels betrayed by the MDSO. We look forward to a thorough investigation and more facts/evidence to come to light which will hopefully show that there was no basis to arrest a grieving mother going through an inconceivable tragedy."
In a statement shared with CBS News Miami, he slammed the "flimsy arrest warrant."
"Let's assume for a second that my client is innocent: She has had the worst tragedy imaginable occur, and then she's locked up without bond and is missing her own daughter's funeral. Common decency would dictate that a little more than 1 day's worth of investigation transpire before making such a dramatic move."
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According to the arrest warrant, Gupta and her ex-husband were in the middle of a custody battle and the girl's father didn't know she was visiting Florida and staying at the rental home where the alleged drowning happened.
PEOPLE has reached out to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, the U.S. Marshals Services, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and the Village of El Portal Police Department for comment.
Read the original article on People
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