Oklahoma Pediatrician Charged in Daughter’s Death Staged as Drowning
Authorities have charged an Oklahoma pediatrician with murder, alleging she manipulated the circumstances of her daughter’s accidental death at a vacation rental in suburban Miami, as revealed by court documents obtained on Thursday.
Dr. Neha Gupta, 36, was taken into custody in Oklahoma City on allegations of first-degree murder and is currently facing extradition to Florida following her daughter’s death on June 27, according to a release from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
The 4-year-old, referred to in legal documents as A.T., was discovered unresponsive in a pool at the rental property, but investigators noted that neither her lungs nor stomach contained water, which ruled out drowning as the cause of death.
An attorney representing Gupta expressed disappointment on Thursday, criticizing the sheriff’s office for what he termed a hurried decision to arrest a grieving mother who had cooperated fully with law enforcement and is heartbroken by her child’s passing.
“We anticipate further evidence, which we believe the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office could not possibly have gathered in their swift, 24-hour inquiry,” said Richard L. Cooper in an email.
According to the arrest affidavit, Gupta arrived in Florida from Oklahoma on June 25, renting a residence in El Portal, just north of Miami.
Gupta claimed she and her daughter reached the rental between 7 and 8 p.m. on June 26 after a day spent at the beach. She reported waking her daughter at 9 p.m. for dinner, at which point the child stayed awake until 12:30 a.m.
The affidavit indicates that Gupta awoke around 3:20 a.m., realizing her daughter was no longer in their shared bed. She told deputies that the sliding glass door to the patio was opened, despite her assertion that she had locked it prior to sleep.
Gupta described discovering the “deceased victim” submerged in the pool. She stated that she attempted to help her daughter but was unable to swim and could not rescue her.
According to her account, she spent about 10 minutes trying to assist the girl before calling 911.
Emergency responders administered CPR, but A.T. was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 4:28 a.m., per the affidavit.
An autopsy conducted on Sunday revealed that the girl’s lungs and stomach were “dry,” and the presence of cuts in her mouth and bruising on her cheeks suggested inconsistencies with the efforts of first responders.
The pathologist determined that A.T. had been dead before entering the pool. While the final cause and manner of death remain undetermined, initial findings indicate the child’s injuries align with asphyxiation due to smothering.
Additionally, evidence from the autopsy showed the girl’s stomach was empty, contradicting Gupta’s claim that she had fed her daughter at 9 p.m.
The affidavit asserts that Gupta attempted to cover up the homicide by staging it as an accidental drowning at the rental property.
No possible motive for the alleged crime is specified in the documents. Notably, Gupta was involved in a custody dispute with her ex-husband at the time of her daughter’s death, and he reportedly was unaware that she had traveled from Oklahoma.
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