Pediatrician Mom Charged With Murder After Allegedly Staging 4-Year-Old Daughter’s Drowning

An Oklahoma pediatrician is facing a first-degree murder charge after Florida authorities accused her of staging her 4-year-old daughter’s drowning during a vacation in Miami.

Neha Gupta, arrested in Oklahoma City, allegedly claimed her daughter wandered into a pool in the middle of the night while they stayed at a short-term rental in Miami. According to her initial statement, Gupta said she awoke around 3:20 a.m. to a loud noise, discovered the sliding door open, and found her daughter submerged in the pool. She told investigators she tried to save the girl despite not being able to swim.

However, a police investigation and autopsy findings raised serious doubts about her account. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office reported that emergency responders found the child unresponsive in the deep end of the pool. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed on June 29 found no water in the child’s lungs or stomach, suggesting she had not drowned. Instead, medical examiners found cuts inside her mouth and bruising on her cheeks, injuries consistent with asphyxiation by smothering, according to the arrest warrant.

Authorities said Gupta attempted to stage her daughter’s death to appear accidental, claiming they had dinner around 9 p.m., but the child’s stomach was completely empty.

The warrant also noted that Gupta and her ex-husband were in the middle of a contentious custody battle. He was reportedly unaware that she had taken their daughter to Florida.

Gupta’s attorney, Richard L. Cooper, condemned the arrest, calling the warrant “flimsy” and stating that Gupta had fully cooperated with police and prosecutors. He argued that her swift arrest, just a day after the incident, lacked compassion and due process.

“Let’s assume for a second that my client is innocent,” Cooper told CBS News. “She’s living through the worst tragedy imaginable — and now she’s locked up without bond, missing her own daughter’s funeral.”

Gupta is expected to be extradited to Miami, where she will face formal charges.

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