An Oklahoma City paediatrician accused of killing her young daughter in what appears to have been a staged drowning was fired weeks before the alleged murder, according to reports.
Dr. Neha Gupta has been charged with first-degree murder after her four-year-old died in a residential pool at a South Florida short-term rental on June 27.
Though initially ruled an accident, an investigation led to Gupta’s arrest after her story unravelled. An autopsy later revealed that Aria Talathi’s lungs and stomach contained no water, and a coroner determined that her injuries were most likely caused by “asphyxiation by smothering.”
The 36-year-old doctor was fired from her position at OU Health at the University of Oklahoma on May 30, less than a month before the incident, the institute confirmed to Local 10 News. The University of Oklahoma also confirmed that Gupta is no longer associated with their healthcare system.
In addition, court documents obtained by Local 10 revealed that Gupta’s ex-husband, Dr Saurabh Talathi, requested that she undergo psychiatric evaluations after the couple divorced in 2024. It’s unclear whether the evaluations ever took place.
According to Gupta’s lawyer, Richard Cooper, she and her daughter, Aria, were on vacation in El Portal when she called 911 to report a child drowning in a residential pool at 3:40 a.m. on the day of the incident.
When officers arrived, Gupta led them to the backyard, where the child remained unresponsive and in the deep end, according to an autopsy report obtained by the outlet.
Talathi was unresponsive, so CPR was attempted. The child was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Centre, but was later pronounced deceased.
However, an autopsy later revealed that Talathi had no water in his lungs or stomach, ruling out drowning. Instead, injuries to her mouth and cheeks indicated “asphyxiation by smothering.”
The medical examiner determined Talathi was likely dead before being placed in the pool, and her empty stomach contradicted Gupta’s claim that she had eaten dinner at 9 p.m.
Gupta is awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade County to face first-degree murder charges, where she will be held without bond.
Cooper and Gupta’s other attorney, Michael Mirer, previously told Local 10 News: “We are disappointed that the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office gave in to pressure and rushed to judgement. As a result, a grieving mother who has recently lost her daughter is in jail.
Their statement continued: “We look forward to a full investigation which will uncover the truth of the matter.”
