An Oklahoma City pediatrician accused of killing her young daughter in what is believed to have been a staged drowning was fired from her job weeks before the alleged murder, it has been revealed.
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 considered an accident, an investigation led to Gupta’s arrest after her account unravelled. An autopsy later reportedly found no water in Aria Talathi’s lungs or stomach and a coroner determined her injuries likely came from “asphyxiation by smothering.”
The 36-year-old doctor had been terminated from her position at OU Health at the University of Oklahoma, on May 30 – just less than a month before the incident – the institute confirmed to Local 10 News. She also got divorced in 2024.
The University of Oklahoma also confirmed that Gupta is no longer affiliated with their health 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 pair finalized their divorce in 2024. It is unclear if 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 about a child drowning in a residential pool at 3:40 a.m. on the day of the incident.
When officers arrived Gupta walked them to the backyard where the child was unresponsive, still in the deep end, an autopsy report obtained by the outlet states.
Talathi was unresponsive and CPR was attempted. The child was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, but was later pronounced dead.
However, an autopsy later reportedly found no water in Talathi’s lungs or stomach, ruling out drowning. Instead, injuries in her mouth and cheeks suggested “asphyxiation by smothering.”
The medical examiner concluded Talathi was likely dead before being placed in the pool, and her empty stomach contradicted a claim by Gupta that she had eaten dinner at 9 p.m.
Gupta awaits extradition to Miami-Dade to face the first-degree murder charge, 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 succumbed to pressure and rushed to judgment. As a result, a grieving mother who just lost her daughter is in jail.”
They added: “We look forward to a full investigation which will uncover the truth of the matter.”
