A 36-year-old pediatrician, identified as Neha Gupta, was apprehended in Oklahoma under suspicion of murdering her four-year-old daughter, whose lifeless body was discovered in the pool of a Miami Airbnb in the early hours of June 27. Authorities claim Gupta attempted to disguise the event as an accidental drowning, but an autopsy revealed signs of suffocation inconsistent with her account.
A Secret Trip to Miami
Dr. Gupta, holding a medical license in Oklahoma for six years and a former employee of Oklahoma Children's Hospital, traveled with her daughter, Aria Talathi, from Oklahoma City to Miami on June 25. They stayed at an Airbnb rental in El Portal, located north of the city limits. According to the arrest warrant, neither her ex-husband—also a pediatrician, Dr. Saurabh Talathi—nor anyone else was aware of the trip. Security footage and Airbnb records confirmed the mother and daughter were the sole occupants during their stay.
The Sequence of Events
Gupta reported that on June 26, they spent the day enjoying the beach and jet skiing. She claimed that Aria was exhausted upon returning and later awoke her for dinner around 9 p.m. They shared a bed and, according to Gupta's testimony, fell asleep together. In a subsequent police statement, Gupta recounted hearing a noise around 3:20 a.m. She said she discovered the sliding door open and found her daughter submerged in the pool. Gupta claimed she attempted to rescue Aria for about ten minutes before calling 911. Emergency responders arrived at the residence, located at 156 NW 90th Street, and found the child in the deep end of the pool. Despite resuscitation efforts, she was pronounced dead at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital around 4:30 a.m., as reported by local media.
Autopsy Reveals Contradictions
While Gupta voluntarily approached authorities with her lawyer to give her version of events, suspicions escalated following the autopsy results. The forensic examination, conducted by Dr. Tuyet Tran, indicated that Aria did not die from drowning. No water was found in her lungs or stomach. Instead, cuts inside her mouth and bruises on her cheeks were discovered, suggesting death by suffocation rather than resuscitative attempts. “The victim died before being placed in the pool,” stated the forensic report cited by Univision. Furthermore, Aria's stomach was empty, contradicting Gupta's claim that the child had eaten dinner hours earlier. Investigators concluded that Gupta, being Aria’s sole caregiver at the time, was responsible for her daughter’s death and attempted to cover it up by staging an accidental drowning. Court documents referenced by CBS Miami noted, “The suspect attempted to conceal the murder […] by staging an accidental drowning in a rented property’s pool.”
Arrest and Ongoing Extradition Process
Gupta returned to Oklahoma shortly after the incident. However, on July 3, she was arrested in Oklahoma City thanks to the collaboration between the local Police Homicide Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO). She is currently in custody, awaiting extradition to Florida where she faces first-degree murder charges. “We are awaiting the truth to come to light. [...] We are eager to understand why the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office felt confident enough to arrest and charge a grieving mother when everything else points to a simple tragic accident,” said her attorney, Richard L. Cooper, in a statement to Local 10 News.
Family Dispute and Legal Battles
The backdrop of Gupta’s family life reveals a prolonged and complicated conflict. Since 2022, she had been embroiled in a legal battle over custody of Aria with her ex-husband. Although the divorce was finalized in 2024, Gupta did not succeed in obtaining sole custody of her daughter. During the proceedings, she secured a temporary protective order against Talathi for alleged domestic violence, which was later dismissed due to lack of evidence. Moreover, a judge ordered Gupta to pay Talathi over $79,000 in legal fees, and her attorneys had recently sought to seize her assets, according to Miami Herald. During this period, the pediatrician also lost her job. OU Health and the University of Oklahoma announced that “Dr. Neha Gupta was suspended from patient care, notified of her termination, and no longer attended to patients in the health system as of May 30, 2025,” as reported by CBS Miami. To date, authorities have not confirmed a clear motive for the alleged crime. The investigation remains open, pending toxicology reports and the formalization of charges in Florida. The evidence gathered—including surveillance footage, the autopsy, and Gupta’s statement—was sufficient for prosecutors to determine that “the drowning death was orchestrated.”
Key Questions on the Case of Neha Gupta
What charges is Neha Gupta facing?
Neha Gupta is facing first-degree murder charges for the death of her daughter, Aria Talathi.
What did the autopsy reveal about Aria Talathi's death?
The autopsy revealed that Aria did not die from drowning, as there was no water in her lungs or stomach. Signs of suffocation were present, with cuts inside her mouth and bruises on her cheeks.
Why did Neha Gupta travel to Miami with her daughter?
Neha Gupta traveled to Miami with her daughter without the knowledge or consent of her ex-husband or anyone else, staying in an Airbnb for a vacation.
How did authorities become suspicious of Neha Gupta's account?
Authorities grew suspicious after the autopsy contradicted Gupta's account of an accidental drowning, showing evidence of suffocation instead.