Dr Neha Gupta’s daughter, Aria was found in a swimming pool at a Florida Airbnb – but a postmortem raised sinister questions over what really happened to the four-year-old
Haunting CCTV footage has captured a little girl’s final moments before she was allegedly murdered by her own mother. Little Aria Talathi can be seen and heard in what appear to be ordinary moments as the pair arrive at an Airbnb. She’s even heard telling her mum: “I can help you with that bag,” as she brings in a suitcase.
But just hours later, the little girl was pulled out of the property’s swimming pool unresponsive with her death initially assumed to be a tragic accident. But a postmortem would later raise chilling questions about what really happened after a coroner suggested the youngster was already dead before she went into the water.
Her mother, Dr Neha Gupta – a paediatrician – told authorities that she didn’t call 911 for help for 10 minutes after discovering her daughter’s body. She said she thad tried to save her, but couldn’t because she couldn’t swim.
She also claimed to have fed her child before bed, however no food was found in her stomach – nor was there any water in her lungs that would determine her cause of death as drowning.
Cuts and bruising were also discovered inside Aria’s mouth said to be “consistent with asphyxiation by smothering.”
In harrowing CCTV footage from the Airbnb, Gupta and Aria can be seen arriving with nothing at all out of the ordinary. The last clip that captured little Aria alive shows her being carried into the property by her mother.
The next time she is seen on CCTV is when first responders carry her out on a stretcher before she is pronounced dead, Law and Crime Sidebar reports.
Gupta, 36, is alleged to have orchestrated the drowning of Aria during a trip to South Florida, according to authorities. The Oklahoma-based doctor was initially charged with first degree murder after being extradited from Oklahoma to Florida.
The charge was later downgraded to aggravated manslaughter before being elevated back to a murder charge.
A homicide detective’s affidavit suggests Gupta “attempted to conceal the killing of the deceased victim by staging an accidental drowning within the swimming pool” of the Airbnb property in El Portal, just north of Miami.
Officials allege she tried to present the child’s death as a tragic pool accident that occurred in the early morning hours of June 27.
Gupta reportedly told police that she and Aria were asleep in a bedroom when a strange noise woke her around 3:20am. She then noticed the sliding door to the patio was open – and moments later, discovered her daughter face-down in the deep end of the pool.
She claimed to have panicked, attempted to rescue the girl but couldn’t swim and failed to pull her out. It was 10 minutes before emergency services were called to the scene and performed CPR, but the child was later declared dead at a nearby hospital.
However, detectives were sceptical of Gupta’s account, especially after video emerged of her giving an interview earlier on in her career where she admitted her hobbies were watersports and scuba diving.
Following the incident, she escaped Florida and returned to Oklahoma – a decision prosecutors now claim was designed to evade charges.
A physician who conducted a post-mortem examination at the medical examiner’s office found no water in the child’s lungs or stomach, and “based on these findings she was able to rule out drowning as being the cause of death,” the detective documented. Dr. Tuyet Tran also informed authorities that she believes the child was deceased before being put in the pool, the detective recorded.
The cause and manner of death remain pending, but Tran discovered injuries including bruising within the girl’s cheeks. According to Tran, these injuries “are consistent with asphyxiation by smothering,” the affidavit states.
Police have not disclosed any potential motive in the case.
The detective noted in the affidavit that Gupta shares custody of the child with her ex-husband, who told detectives that he and his former wife were embroiled in an bitter custody dispute over Aria.
The ex-husband Dr Talathi, also told detectives that he was unaware that Gupta and the child had travelled to South Florida.
Based on surveillance video and Airbnb records, investigators established that Gupta and her daughter were the only occupants of the rental property, the affidavit states.
Gupta worked as a medic at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, which forms part of the University of Oklahoma’s health network, according to documentation from the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision.
The university’s staff listings revealed she had also served as an assistant professor within the institution’s health sciences centre.
The University of Oklahoma and its health network issued a statement confirming that Gupta had been “suspended from patient care, given notice of termination, and was no longer seeing patients at the health system as of May 30, 2025.”
The statement also confirmed that Gupta had received a “notice of termination” from the university.
Gupta’s attorney, Richard L. Cooper, provided a statement after her arrest.
It said: “We’re eager to know why the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office seemingly felt so sure to arrest and charge a grieving mother when all other signs point to a simple tragic accident.”
The judge ordered Gupta held without bond. She is awaiting trial and is due back in court on November 13 to face second degree murder charges.
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