A staged drowning? 911 call from Indian-origin doctor deepens mystery over 4-year-old daughter's death

Chilling 911 audio has surfaced in the case of an Indian-origin US doctor accused of murdering her 4-year-old daughter. Prosecutors alleged that Dr Neha Gupta, 37, a paediatrician from Oklahoma, staged the killing to look like a tragic drowning.

Gupta was arrested in July 2025, days after her 4-year-old daughter Aria Talathi was found dead at the bottom of a pool in Florida. 

On July 27, 2025, Gupta, over a 911 call, said that she found her daughter lying at the bottom of the pool at a rental place in Florida, where they had been vacationing. 

While talking to the dispatcher on the 911 call, Gupta said she tried to get her out of the pool. 

"I tried to get her out," she told the dispatcher. "We were sleeping, and I heard some noise. She was in the pool, and I tried to save her, but I don't know how to swim. She went down in the pool." 

Gupta led first responders to the backyard pool, where she claimed her daughter had drowned. Despite finding the four-year-old unresponsive and immediately performing life-saving CPR, emergency teams were unable to revive her. She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Gupta's ex-husband, Dr Saurabh Talathi—with whom she shared joint custody—stated that he was unaware their daughter had been taken out of Oklahoma. The former couple was reportedly embroiled in an ongoing custody dispute. 

Gupta was arrested on July 2 after an autopsy revealed that the child's lungs and stomach contained no water. The findings, characterised as 'dry lungs,' effectively ruled out drowning as the cause of death and shifted the investigation toward homicide.

The medical examiner also noted internal trauma, including 'cuts within the mouth and bruising inside the cheeks.' These injuries are consistent with asphyxiation by smothering, suggesting the child's airway was forcibly obstructed.

Gupta is now facing a second-degree murder charge in Miami-Dade County.