Former OU Health pediatrician accused of killing daughter appears in bond court
Dr. Neha Gupta appearing in court for the first time since she was arrested for allegedly killing her 4-year-old daughter and staging it to look like a drowning while on vacation in Florida.
According to an arrest warrant, Gupta and her daughter were staying at an Airbnb in El Portal Florida, when the child was found unresponsive in the pool.
Gupta told police that the the two were asleep when she was woken up by a noise, and realized that her daughter was missing, and found her submerged in the pool moments later.
An autopsy report in the arrest warrant says the medical examiner found now water in the child lungs and considered them dry, ruling out drowning as cause of death.
The medical examiner also noted cuts and bruising in the child mouth, consistent with smothering.
"It appears that what the defendant said happened, the drowning, is not consistent with what the autopsy revealed," said another attorney at the bond court.
The medical examiner has not stated a cause or manner of death.
During bond court, Gupta's attorney argued the arrest warrant and preliminary findings of the autopsy led to rushed judgement.
"Our concern, judge, is that this was a rush to judgment. There was no official cause and manner of death, and here we are where the state files a an arrest warrant for first degree murder and is asking my client to be held without bond," said Michael Mirer, Gupta's attorney.
The judge firing back at Mirer saying what Gupta told police and what an autopsy revealed are not matching up.
Ms. Gupta said they had a nice dinner, put her to bed. In the meantime, when they do an autopsy, there's no food in her stomach to indicate she had that nice dinner and her lungs were dry, indicating she did not drown. So for purposes of this probable cause hearing, there is probable cause," said Judge Mindy Glazer.
Judge Glazer went on to say Gupta waiting 10 minutes before she purportedly called 911 for help.
"She's a physician. She was attempting to resuscitate the kid and save this child. She could not, and that's when she called."
However, according to the arrest warrant, officers observed the 4-year-old "unresponsive and submerged in the deep end of the swimming pool" and Miami-Dade Fire and Rescue retrieved the child from the pool and began CPR.
The Gupta and the father of the child have been in an on-going custody battle, in which previous documents show the father raising concerns over Gupta's behavior with the child.
The judge has ordered Gupta to be held in a Miami-Dade county jail, without bond.