MIAMI — An Oklahoma pediatrician initially arrested for first-degree murder in the death of her 4-year-old daughter in Miami-Dade County is now officially charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child, a bondable offense.
Neha Gupta, 36, remains in custody without bond for the time being. However, a hearing to address her release conditions is tentatively scheduled for Monday.
She did not appear in court on Thursday but her attorney, Michael Mirer, entered a written plea of not guilty and continued to maintain her innocence.
“Our position from day one has been that Dr. Gupta did not intentionally harm her child that her child tragically got out of the locked door and fell into the pool accidentally. And this confirms (sic) by the state’s filing. The charges are not intentional by Doctor Gupta,” Mirer said.
Gupta was arrested at her Oklahoma City home on July 1 by U.S. Marshals and local police.
Body camera footage obtained by Local 10 News last month shows officers breaching her front door and ordering her to surrender.
“Neha Gupta, come to the front door. Do it now,” one officer is heard shouting.
Police said Gupta reported on June 27 that her daughter, Aria Talathi, had drowned in the pool of a rental home in El Portal.
But according to her arrest warrant, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office found no water in Aria’s lungs or stomach.
Instead, they said Aria had injuries inside her mouth consistent with smothering, not CPR. They concluded that she was likely dead before entering the water.
Court records show Aria’s father, Dr. Saurabh Talathi, had been seeking full custody and previously raised concerns about Gupta’s mental health. He also told investigators he was unaware that she had taken their daughter out of state.
During an interview with detectives, Gupta said she and Aria had spent the day at the beach and returned to the rental between 7 and 8 p.m.
She claimed Aria fell asleep, but was later woken up for dinner, and the two went to bed around 12:30 a.m.
Gupta told detectives she awoke around 3:20 a.m. to a noise, discovered Aria missing from bed, and found her submerged in the pool, according to her arrest report.
Authorities said she told officers she tried to help the child for about 10 minutes before calling 911, despite not knowing how to swim. However, they said those claims did not match physical evidence.
As of Thursday, Gupta was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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