'I tried to save her': 911 call released in case of doctor accused of staging daughter's drowning

Oklahoma pediatrician Dr. Neha Gupta has been charged with second-degree murder after allegedly staging her 4-year-old daughter Aria’s drowning in Florida, where she claimed the child was drowning in a pool during a 911 call. Investigators concluded the girl was dead before entering the pool, likely due to suffocation, and no water was found in her lungs. Gupta was arrested and remains jailed without bond, with her court appearance scheduled for May.

EL PORTAL, Fla. — Officials released audio of an Oklahoma pediatrician’s eerie 911 calls claiming her young daughter was drowning in a pool at a short-term rental home in El Portal. Investigators said it was all an act to cover up the little girl’s death.

Four-year-old Aria Talathi was at the bottom of the pool, not moving, Dr. Neha Gupta said in the June 27, 2025, call.

Gupta, 37, of Oklahoma City, is now facing a second-degree murder charge in Miami-Dade County.

“She was in the pool, I tried to save her, but I don’t know how to swim,” the then-36-year-old Gupta is heard saying in the 911 recording.

Gupta said her daughter got into the pool at the home at 156 NW 90th St. while she was asleep.

The 911 operator encouraged Gupta to try and find a way to get the little girl out of the pool.

“You need to try and get her out of the water,” the operator tells her. “Find something to see if you can try to pull her out with.”

Gupta asks, “Do you know how far EMS is?”

“They’re on the way, they’re on the way but you need to try to help her,” the operator says. “Find any way you can to try and get her out.”

Gupta tells 911 and later paramedics she has no idea how long the child was in the pool, estimating maybe 20 minutes.

According to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office, no water was found in Aria’s lungs or stomach and was dead before she was placed in the pool.

Investigators believe she was smothered to death.

Gupta was later arrested at her home in the sooner state.

Aria’s father had been seeking full custody before her death, raising concerns about Gupta’s mental state. He had no idea his daughter was taken to Florida.

Gupta and her lawyers maintain that Aria’s death was an accident.

Gupta remained in jail with no bond as of Monday. She is due back in court in May.

'I tried to save her': 911 call released in case of doctor accused of staging daughter's drowning

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