Who is Neha Gupta? Indian-origin doctor accused of killing 4-year-old daughter, staging an accidental drowning in Florida

An Indian-origin doctor Neha Gupta based in Oklahoma has been arrested on the charges of murdering her 4-year old daughter, Aria Talathi and then covering up it as a drowning accident in a residential pool in Florida. She faces a first-degree murder charge. Neha Gupta's daughter was found 'unconscious' in the pool and was declared dead. However, investigation reveals that not drowning but  asphyxiation by smothering and injuries is the possible cause of her death, putting her mother Dr.Neha Gupta under suspicion. 

Who is Dr.Neha Gupta?

Dr. Neha Gupta, 36 year old, was a licensed pediatrician at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health. Neha was also an assistant professor at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre. Now, she has been terminated by the hospital and University.

She was also been a resident at the Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Centre in the past and holds the Fellow title in connection with University of Alabama at Birmingham, as per LinkedIn.

Custody battle with husband

Neha Gupta was married to Dr Saurabh Talathi, and both had a 4-year-old daughter named Aria Talathi. However, the couple was involved in bitter custody battle of their daughter after their divorce. Neha accused Saurabh of domestic violence. She also used "aggressive tactics" for daughter's custody, however was denied sole custody.

The incident

Neha Gupta travelled with her daughter, Aria Talathi from Oklahoma City to Florida. As per reports, her husband had no clue about this. Neha rented a stay in El-Portal, a village in Miami-Dade County. At 4:30 am on June 27, a child downing in residential pool in Florida was reported to the police. Police arrived at the scene, and rescued the 4-year-old Aria. Aria was declared dead at the hospital. 

The security video visuals confirmed that Neha Gupta and Aria Talathi were the only people at the stay. Neha was then arrested after a warrant was issued against her in Oklahoma. Neha said that her daughter accidentally drowned on slipping out of bed, and she claimed that she also tried to help her 10 times before calling the police. 

However, an autopsy reveals the opposite, It reveals that no traces of water and signs of trauma, cuts within the mouth and bruising within the cheeks of the child's face were found, as per reports. The cause of death was due to suffocation and lack of oxygen, asphyxiation by smothering. This has ruled out the possibility of drowning, putting Neha under suspicion of murdering her daughter and then 'staging an accidental drowning.'

Neha's lawyer denies accusations

However, Neha Gupta's lawyer, Richard Cooper, has denied these accusations and said, "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,” the lawyer said, per People. 

“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,” he added.