An Oklahoma pediatrician accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter on a Florida vacation had her charges downgraded on Thursday.
Neha Gupta faces a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child and is now eligible for bond, KOCO reported.
Gupta’s legal representative, Michael Mirer, expressed that the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office acted prematurely by going to Oklahoma with U.S. Marshals to arrest Gupta on a first-degree murder charge. He stated this decision shows that the State Attorney’s Office lacks evidence to prove Dr. Gupta intentionally harmed her child, as mentioned in Mirer’s interview with WTVJ.
Initially, Gupta faced first-degree murder charges after police were summoned to a rental in El Portal, where her daughter, Aria Talathi, was discovered by the pool in a critical state, according to a report from CrimeOnline.
Gupta, who arrived in Florida with her daughter a day prior, informed investigators that she awoke to a noise at 3:20 a.m. on June 27 and found a sliding glass door open. Upon going outside, she saw her daughter in the pool and called the police around 3:40 a.m., noting that she was unable to swim and reach her child.
“The complainant is advising [that] the juvenile is in the pool and she can’t swim to get to her,” a police dispatcher said.
An autopsy found no water in the girl’s lungs and injuries in her mouth that could have been consistent with smothering.
Gupta was arrested at her home back in Oklahoma on June 30 and extradited to Florida, accused of staging the child’s death as a drowning.
Her attorney called the downgraded charge “a vindication,” according to KOCO.
Mirer added that the shift from a murder to a manslaughter charge suggests that Dr. Gupta’s alleged negligence was in failing to secure the Airbnb, resulting in her daughter’s unfortunate drowning.
A bond hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Gupta is still a licensed doctor but has not worked for Oklahoma University Health, where she had been employed, since May.
