Indian-origin doc charged with daughter’s murder, staged drowning; 911 audio revealed

US authorities have released a 911 emergency call made by an Indian-origin doctor accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter and allegedly attempting to stage the death as an accidental drowning, as per reports.

In the recording, Dr Neha Gupta can be heard telling the operator that her daughter is at the bottom of the pool. She tried to save her, but she didn’t know how to swim. She alleged that she was sleeping and heard some noise. 

The 911 operator urged her to attempt a rescue, and asked her whether Gupta could find something to pull her out, probably like a stick or a pool cleaning stick.

Gupta also reportedly asked how far emergency medical services were from the scene. The operator replied that they were on their way but insisted she try to assist the child.

Investigators in Miami-Dade County have reportedly charged Gupta, a paediatrician from Oklahoma City, with second-degree murder following the death of her daughter in June 2025 at a holiday rental property in El Portal, Florida.

According to reports citing the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office, first responders arrived after Gupta directed them to the backyard swimming pool, where the child was found unresponsive. Despite efforts to revive her, she was pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital. Initial reports described the death as a possible drowning.

Gupta reportedly told authorities that she and her daughter had travelled from Oklahoma and were staying at the short-term rental. However, her former husband, Dr Saurabh Talathi, later said he had been unaware that their daughter had left Oklahoma and confirmed that the couple were involved in an ongoing custody dispute.

On July 2, 2025, detectives from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homicide Bureau arrested Gupta following interviews and the collection of forensic evidence.

A police affidavit reportedly stated that the child’s autopsy revealed no water in her lungs or stomach, describing them as “dry”, thereby ruling out drowning as the cause of death. The medical examiner also reported cuts inside the child’s mouth and bruising on her cheeks, injuries said to be consistent with asphyxiation by smothering.

Investigators concluded that the child had died before being placed in the pool, contradicting Gupta’s account that she and her daughter had fallen asleep around 12.30am and that the child later wandered outside and fell into the water.

An arrest document alleged that Gupta attempted to conceal the killing by staging an accidental drowning in the swimming pool of the rental property.

The University of Oklahoma, where Gupta had been employed as a physician, told local media that she was removed from patient care duties and her employment was terminated on May 30.