Florida – An Oklahoma pediatrician, Dr. Neha Gupta, has been arrested after being accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter, Aria Talathi, and staging her death as a drowning.
According to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, on June 27, El Portal Police responded to a report of a child drowning at a short-term rental property in Florida. When officers arrived, they found Aria Talathi unresponsive inside the pool. The girl was taken to a local hospital, but she was pronounced dead.
Investigating the Death
After the initial investigation, authorities discovered that Dr. Gupta and her daughter had traveled from Oklahoma City to Florida and were staying at the rental. During an interview, Dr. Gupta claimed that she and Aria had arrived at the rental and went to bed around 12:30 a.m.
Gupta said she woke up around 3 a.m. and noticed that her daughter was missing from the bed. According to Gupta, she went outside and found Aria submerged in the pool.
Gupta claimed she tried to pull Aria out of the pool but couldn’t swim, so she attempted to help her daughter for about 10 minutes before calling law enforcement.
Medical Findings Disprove Drowning
An autopsy performed by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office on June 29 showed that there was no water in Aria’s lungs or stomach, indicating that she likely did not drown.
The examination also revealed lacerations in her mouth and bruises inside her cheeks, suggesting smothering. These injuries led investigators to believe that Aria died before being placed in the pool.
Authorities allege that Dr. Gupta attempted to cover up the murder by staging it as an accidental drowning.
Custody Battle and Arrest
Dr. Gupta and her ex-husband, Dr. Saurabh Talathi, reportedly shared custody of Aria. They were in the middle of a custody battle at the time, and Dr. Talathi did not know that Gupta had taken their daughter out of Oklahoma.
After the investigation, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Dr. Gupta. She was arrested and will be extradited to Miami-Dade County, where she will face charges of first-degree murder.
Dr. Gupta’s Employment Status
In a statement obtained by WPLG, OU Health and the University of Oklahoma confirmed that Dr. Gupta had been suspended from patient care and was given notice of termination. As of May 30, 2025, she was no longer seeing patients at the health system and was also terminated by the university.