Body cam video shows Oklahoma doctor being arrested in daughter's murder charge

Yahoo

5 days ago

In a quiet gated community in Oklahoma City, armed officers from the local police department and the U.S. Marshals crept toward the front door of a home. They were there to carry out the arrest of a Oklahoma pediatrician who authorities say murdered her 4-year-old daughter and tried to stage the death as a drowning while vacationing in South Florida.
Newly released body camera footage from the Oklahoma City Police Department captures the moments when 36-year-old Neha Gupta was taken into custody at her four-bedroom, three-bathroom home on July 1. Just four days earlier, her daughter, Aria Talathi, had been found lifeless in a pool around 4 a.m. at their vacation rental home in El Portal.
The footage shows officers cutting across a manicured lawn before approaching the front door. They bang loudly, announcing themselves: 'Police with a warrant, open the door! Do it now!' When no one answers, they force the door open.
'Neha Gupta, come to the front door now,' one officer shouts, adding the U.S. Marshals have a warrant for her arrest. There's no response.
READ MORE: Doctor staged drowning to cover up daughter's murder during Miami vacation: MDSO
As officers step inside, they move carefully with weapons drawn. Just inside the entryway, a stroller can be seen. To the left, a pink child's dollhouse sits by the wall—reminders of the child who had once lived there.
Locked in room
As they search the home, officers check cluttered closets and rooms scattered with children's toys. A small pink jacket hangs on a hook.
Their search leads them to a shut laundry room door. They undo a child safety lock, open the door, and find Gupta standing in the dark, wearing what appears to be matching pajamas and white flip-flops.
Officers order her to the ground. She kneels, placing her hands behind her back as they handcuff her. She is escorted through the garage, past stacks of cardboard boxes and a white Nissan parked inside.
READ MORE: Pediatrician accused of staging child's death is back in Miami and behind bars
Gupta spent the next 17 days in an Oklahoma City jail before being extradited to Miami-Dade County, where she has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of her daughter. She remains at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after a judge denied her bond.
911 call to El Portal home
In the predawn hours of June 27, officers from El Portal Police Department and paramedics from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue rushed to a 911 call reporting a child was found unresponsive in a swimming pool at a home at 156 NW 90th St. in El Portal.
Gupta took the officers to the backyard, where her daughter Aria was found submerged in the deep end of the pool, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, which took over the investigation from El Portal Police.
The doctor and her daughter had arrived in South Florida on June 25 and were renting the house as a short-term Airbnb rental.
Gupta's attorney, Richard Cooper, previously told the Miami Herald that MDSO did not conduct a full investigation before Gupta's arrest.
'Dr. Gupta fully cooperated with law enforcement and gave multiple statements that never wavered in consistency,' Cooper said. 'Rather than conduct a thorough investigation, which could require multiple autopsies and toxicology analyses, the MDSO decided to apply for a warrant for a grieving mother going through the unimaginable. We look forward to all the facts coming to light.'
No water in girl's lungs: autopsy
A preliminary autopsy of Aria conducted by the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's office revealed no water in Aria's lungs or stomach, ruling out drowning. Instead, doctors found bruising inside the child's cheeks and cuts in her mouth — injuries inconsistent with any resuscitation attempts, Gupta's warrant read.
The autopsy findings suggested Aria had died from asphyxiation by smothering before being placed in the pool.
Gupta told authorities that the day before Aria died, she and her daughter had spent the day at the beach and riding personal watercraft before returning to their vacation home and eating dinner.
After their meal, she said, they shared a bed and went to sleep. At around 3:20 a.m., Gupta said she was awakened by a noise and realized Aria was no longer in bed. She told investigators she found the sliding glass door open and discovered Aria submerged in the pool.
Gupta said she couldn't swim but tried to rescue her for 10 minutes before calling 911.
Gupta is set to be arraigned on Aug. 7, according to court records.