The Oklahoma pediatrician was charged with murder, authorities said she staged the accidental death of her daughter on a vacation rental outside Miami, court records obtained Thursday.
Dr. Neha Gupta, 36, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in Oklahoma City and is waiting for extradition to Florida with the death of his daughter on June 27, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The 4-year-old girl was identified in an affidavit supporting arrest warrant and found she would not respond in the pool at her home, but there was no water in her lungs and stomach, leading authorities to rule out her own death as the cause of the death.
Gupta’s lawyer said Thursday that he was disappointed with the sheriff’s office. “We have decided to work fully with the police and hurry to arrest our grieving mother who is absolutely devastated due to the loss of her child,” he said.
“We look forward to the evidence that the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office may have been completed in a 24-hour investigation,” attorney Richard L. Cooper said in an email.
According to the affidavit, Gupta traveled from Oklahoma to Florida, where he was a doctor on June 25th and rented a home in El Portal, north of Miami.
Gupta told authorities that after spending the day at the beach, she arrived for rentals with her daughter between 7 and 8pm on June 26th. Gupta woke up the girl to have dinner at 9pm, and the 4-year-old remained awake until 12:30am, the affidavit says.
According to the affidavit, Gupta said she woke up to the noise around 3:20am, confirming that her daughter was not in the bed she shares.
The sliding glass door to the patio was open, Gupta told authorities, although she said she locked it before going to bed.
Gupta said she later observed a “dead victim” who was submerged underwater inside the residence’s swimming pool,” the affidavit states. “Subject” said she tried to remove the victim from the pool. However, she failed due to the fact that she cannot swim. ”
According to the affidavit, Gupta said she tried to help the girl for 10 minutes before dialing 911.
The first responder performed the CPR but was declared dead at the hospital at 4:28am, the affidavit says.
During an autopsy on Sunday, a pathologist with the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Division of Medical Examiners found the girl’s lungs and stomach were “dry” and cut through the mouth and bruised a bruise on the cheek “inconsistent” with efforts to save the life of her first responder.
The pathologist concluded that the girl had died before she was placed in the pool, the affidavit says.
The cause and method of death are pending, but the pathologist’s preliminary findings show that the girl’s injuries are consistent with choking caused by asphyxiation, the affidavit says.
The autopsy also showed the girl’s stomach was empty, contrary to what Gupta told authorities about feeding her at 9pm, the affidavit said.
Gupta says “sought to hide the murder of the “dead victim” by staging the accidental own death within the swimming pool of the rental property.”
The affidavit does not identify possible motives.
According to the documents, Gupta was in a custody battle with her ex-husband when her daughter died, and he was unaware that she had left Oklahoma.
