‘Killer’ Pediatrician Caught on Camera Right Before Daughter Died

Mommy, how. did I find another house? These are the. last moments that 4-year-old Arya. Talathi was heard alive before police. say her mother, pediatrician Dr. Neha. Gupta, killed her, allegedly smothering. this little girl and staging her death. to look like an accidental drowning. We. are going to break down what we are. seeing in this newly released. surveillance footage with a retired NYPD. detective to understand what this will. mean for the investigation. Welcome to.

Sidebar, presented by Law & Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. [Music]. You may remember the case of 4-year-old. Arya Talathi who was tragically found. dead in the backyard pool of a Florida. rental home in late June of 2025. Her mother, Dr. Neha Gupta, an Oklahoma. pediatrician, she's accused of. smothering her daughter and staging the. scene. The reason we are talking about. this story once again, the reason we are.

revisiting the story is because there is. newly released surveillance footage that. shows this little girl, shows Arya in. the final days of her life, moments that. until now we hadn't been able to see or. hear. Newly released surveillance. footage obtained by Law & Crime captures. what looks like an ordinary. mother-daughter beach trip. Again, moments now cast in a chilling new. light. And just days after this footage. was recorded, this little girl was found.

dead at the same home. If you've been. following Sidebar, you will remember. this case. Dr. Neha Gupta, this. pediatrician at the center of what is. arguably one of the most shocking child. deaths in recent memory that we've. covered here on the show. And you might. also remember this, the dramatic moment. that US Marshals showed up to arrest her. in her Oklahoma home on July 1st, 2025. Police with a warrant, OPEN THE DOOR, DO. IT NOW. THAT'S COMPLETELY OUT. COME TO THE DOOR. [Applause].

[Music]. HANDS. HANDS. Come out. Contact. On the. ground. >> Come here. Now, here's the thing. Okay, this is. what's interesting. Gupta was initially charged with. first-degree murder, but since then a. lot has changed. It was first downgraded. to aggravated manslaughter, and then it. was elevated back to a murder charge. Okay, we're going to get into all of. that. And we're going to break down what. we're seeing for the very first time in. this newly released surveillance footage. in just a moment. But first, how do we. get here? Right? What is going on?

What's the context? So, according to an. arrest warrant, police were called. around 3:41 a.m. on June 27th, 2025 to a. short-term rental property in El Portal, Florida. This is outside the Miami area. And this is after a call came in from. Gupta reporting that her 4-year-old. daughter had drowned. The warrant reads, "Officers observed AT, hereinafter. referred to as the deceased victim, unresponsive and submerged in the deep. end of the swimming pool." MDFR. personnel extracted the deceased victim. from the pool and began cardiopulmonary.

resuscitation. The victim was pronounced. deceased at 4:28 a.m. Now, Gupta told. investigators that she had been sleeping. beside her daughter, woke up, found her. missing. She claimed that the sliding. glass door to the pool had somehow been. opened and that she tried to save her. daughter but couldn't because she. couldn't swim. Remember that, that she. couldn't swim. The warrant quotes her. saying she attempted to remove the. victim from the pool. However, she was. unsuccessful due to the fact that she's. unable to swim. We will come back to.

that detail later. But that is the version of the story. that Gupta apparently told authorities. The autopsy in this case tells a very. different story. Why? The doctor, the. Miami-Dade Medical Examiner, found that. there was no water in Arya's lungs or. stomach. The report also documented cuts inside. of her mouth and bruising on her cheeks, so injuries not consistent with CPR, according to this medical professional, but consistent with asphyxiation by. smothering. In the medical examiner's.

words, quote, "The deceased victim was. deceased prior to being placed into the. swimming pool." And that finding. transformed a tragic accident report. into a homicide investigation. Now, if. you're a fan of Sidebar, you know we. cover a lot of cases, you know we put. out a lot of clips a day, and I will. tell you, if you are thinking about how. to build up your social media following, if you're thinking about how to put. content out there, we got to tell you. how our little secret, our little trick. So, we use a platform called Opus Clip.

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to help you edit like a pro and grow. your audience. So, give it a try for. yourself. Go to opus.pro/sidebar. to start creating your own videos today. Gupta was arrested July 1st at her. Oklahoma City home. This is days after. the medical examiner's findings. Body. cam video that was obtained by Law &. Crime shows the US Marshals forcing. their way into her house where they. eventually found Gupta hiding in a. laundry room. Police with a warrant, OPEN THE DOOR, DO. IT NOW.

THAT'S COMPLETELY OUT. COME TO THE DOOR. TURN AROUND. Flash come up with breach. [Music]. Breach. Open. NEHA GUPTA, COME TO THE FRONT DOOR, DO. IT NOW. BREACH. WE ARE US MARSHALS. WE. HAVE A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST. COME TO. THE FRONT DOOR. DO IT NOW.

WE SAW HER. [Music]. What's the inside? Inside the house.

We got y'all's light over here. You got to answer when I ask you. Yeah. You want us to move up? You guys got it? Yeah, we are we are inside the house. Let's push until it's on his right side. Just hold it.

Go ahead and close it. Clear. Okay. Yes, it does kind of come back around, so just hold what you got there. First we open the door all the way down. through the hallway. And that go out to.

the garage out there? Yep. Hey. We're going to clear this garage, so. back up a little bit, lady. I'm hungry. Okay. It's unlocked. We'll go there. There's nothing out. there as well. We're going to clear this.

Clear.

Clear.

>> That's what you're writing down. Nope. Okay. I guess it's kind of irrelevant what's. on it. It's a locker or something. Do not have contact. Target. I go to this target and have. have to wait there. Clear. They were They were opening up these. garage doors. Opening up the garage. garage doors. We're clear outside. Shut that here.

[Applause]. [Music]. [Applause]. [Music]. Hands! Hands! Come out! Contact! On the. ground! >> Come here. Get down. All right. All right. Keep Keep Keep. clearing the rest of this and get her. out.

I don't know what she has. I don't know. what she has. One more here. She has an injury. Nice. You good? All right. Door. Take her out. You want to help me? All right. She was taken into custody, extradited. to Florida. She first appeared in court. on July 18th where prosecutors argued. the evidence pointed to an intentional. and premeditated act. Well, Goopta's. attorney called the charge premature, claimed that Aria's death was. accidental, a tragedy, that it wasn't a.

crime, accused investigators of rushing. to judgment. But the judge referenced. the medical examiner's findings. Her. lungs were dry, indicating she did not. she did not drown. So, for purposes of this probable cause. hearing, there is probable cause. In. addition, she waited 10 minutes before. she purportedly called. 911 for help. And Goopta was denied. bond. And now, this is where we return. to the new evidence, okay? And to help. me break it down, I want to bring on.

special guest, friend of the show, Tom. Smith, retired NYPD detective and. co-host of the Gold Shield Show. Good to. see you, sir. Thanks for taking the time. to come in. Um when you arrive at a scene like this, I don't know if you've ever arrived at a. scene like this. I hope you never did. But how do you differentiate between an. accident, right, an accidental death, and a potential homicide? Well, when you. first show up, you're not. You Your very. first thing is to aid the victim or, you. know, whatever needs to be done when it. comes to the victim is what you're doing.

first. Getting that taken care of, getting an ambulance there, getting. whatever aid is necessary to take care. of that victim. And then later on, when. detectives arrive and statements start. going, "What did you first observe? What. did you first see?" That's when it. starts to break down of how it happened. or what the circumstances were. surrounding it. >> Can you tell from a scene, not even. speaking to me, from a scene itself, the. physical evidence of the scene, you tell. whether something was tampered with? Can. you tell whether something was staged? Can you tell if something doesn't add. up? And what are those clues? Yeah, and.

it depends on where it is. You know, like a room, a bedroom, yeah, you could. take a a snapshot look at it and see, you know, what's moved, what's broken, what's not. An outdoor scene like this. with just a swimming pool, very. difficult. Autopsy findings, are they. the end-all, be-all? Will they Have you. ever disagreed with an autopsy finding. based on your own investigation? No, absolutely not. Uh they're the experts. That's their world. That's what they're. educated and paid to do, and I haven't. ran into one that I disagreed with.

Uh there's ones that you get that you. question more like, "Hey, tell me more. about it. Tell me how this didn't happen. or how your findings conclude this." You. know, those conversations take place, but just to say, "No, you know, that. wasn't uh what I thought." No. When I. tell you there is an absence of water in. this little girl's lungs, what does it. tell you? Absolutely did not drown. I. mean, no doubt about it. That was. actually the first thing I looked up. when it came to this case was what were.

the autopsy findings when it came to her. lungs, her trachea, anything like that. And the absence of any water in there. takes away the whole drowning part. >> Regarding the surveillance footage, which we're going to get into, generally. speaking though, generally speaking, how. important is surveillance footage in a. case like this, particularly footage. that leads up to some sort of event? How. much does it tell you about what a. person's thinking or doing or their. actions, their mannerisms? What are you. looking for? Oh, a lot. You know, the. interactions between the two,

conversations between the two, uh you know, what's said by each party. Those Those are dramatic when it comes. to leading. uh the course of an investigation of of. a direction you want to go in because of. just. it's family. You know, things are just. going on at a normal, natural pace, and. that's what you want to see. And you. want to try to get the little snippets. of maybe something bad being said or one. small little action that was done that. leads to, you know, a a terrible event.

like this. >> And though a lot of people, I'm not. saying in this case, but a lot of. people, they don't even realize that. they're on tape, right? They don't even. realize they're on surveillance tape. >> Right. And it's their own house. Yeah. Yeah, well. And but but but That's a. good point. I mean, we see that a lot. Um but like, you know, even the Mark. Sanchez case, totally different situation, but, you. know, that footage, there's probably. multiple footage both of the attack, uh. the alleged attack, and then him walking. around. There's cameras everywhere, and. it captures everything. So, sol- I would. imagine in a way solving a crime, trying.

to figure out what happened is easier. today than it was 20 years ago. Oh, dramatically easier. You know, I. wouldn't say though I wouldn't say. easier, but it's the the technology. today helps investigations go on. The. presence of video cameras, like you. said, is everywhere. If it's not in a. store or it's not in the corner of a. building, it's on a traffic light. It's. on someone's ring, you know, on their. front door. It is endless what the the. coverage is of surveillance technology. today. So, at first, okay, at first.

she's charged with a first-degree murder. charge, and this is interesting because. But then a month later, prosecutors. downgraded that to aggravated. manslaughter. But by August 13th, prosecutors reinstated her murder. charge. This time it was second-degree. So, it seems they're still saying the. evidence supports that this girl was. smothered, that the scene was staged. Have you seen the a back-and-forth like. that on charges? Well, you know what? Here's what I want to say about that. And we Me and you have had this.

discussion. You have asked me on other. shows, "What takes so long when there's. an investigation going on to come up. with what charge you're going to charge. someone?" This is exactly why. Because. if you jump too quick, this is what. happens. And now the prosecution looks. horrible. Detectives are kind of in the. middle of this because they probably. know what should be charged, but then. it's up to the DAs to do it. And it. affects the jurors out there. You know, jurors during a trial aren't supposed to. watch the news or read the paper or.

whatever, but beforehand in your own. life, you're going to. So, now you see, is the prosecution really on the right. track? Is it right? Is it wrong? What. are they doing? So, that's why I always. said to you that the more time you take. with going through it methodically and. making sure you do this once and one. time and you're right about it, this is. exactly why. >> How much do police How much do. investigators influence. prosecutorial decisions on charges? They have a They It depends on the.

relationship you have, you know, uh most. detectives and DAs have great. relationships because you're dealing. with the same ones all the time. It's. kind of one team. And that's why that. relationship is so important because. each of you need to rely on your. opinions and your experiences of what. you saw, what your gut feeling is, but. then you can't go gut into the law. Then. the law has to take over. You know, so. it's a back-and-forth, but the. relationship there is very, very. important to each other's uh experience.

>> So, you're saying Law & Order is real. It's accurate. Uh yeah. We've had Oh, yeah. And you know what? It's not always on the right page. You. know, you've had disagreements. Why are. you doing this? Why aren't you doing. this? >> I'm at the show. Yeah. Yeah, it's. accurate. Oh, yeah, that happens. because, you know, you're after two. different things. You know, in in the. law enforcement world, the detective's. job is lock up the bad guy. Yeah, yeah. You know, in the law, they have to. prosecute him and put him in jail. Those. are two different worlds. But they kind.

of kind of come to an agreement in the. middle, but inevitably at the end, the. law is always going to going to take. over. Okay, let's talk about the. surveillance footage cuz it's odd. This. is odd. There were cameras at this rental. property, and it captures Dr. Neha Gupta. on June 25th and the 26th. So, this is. the final days before this little girl's. death. The footage we obtained shows. this 4-year-old in in what is just. little, ordinary moments with her mother.

at this short-term rental property. before authorities say she was found. dead in the backyard pool. In the. footage, you can see who police say is. Goopta pulling up to that L Portal home. in her car on June 25th, then stepping. out with her daughter. You can even hear. Aria's voice here. You see her again in this video where. Goopta appears to walk to her car, grab. the bags. Later, she's seen bringing in. a suitcase, and you can still hear the. little girl's voice in the background.

That evening, a food delivery arrives. The next afternoon, there was a diaper. change. Later, Goopta is seen carrying. the tired-out girl inside. I will tell. you this would be the last time that. Aria was seen alive because the next. morning, this is now June 27th, flashing. lights, first responders arrive and. finally the heartbreaking scene. Her. body being taken out on a stretcher. Tom, I think that this is important.

footage. What does it tell you though because it. seems just. so ordinary and if you think about what. she's accused of doing, is there anything in there that is a. clue? No, that's what I said before. You. know, video footage is great, you know, you're always looking for video footage. on the detective side to find something. wrong. But that's not always the case. You know, like I said, it's normal. interaction that you see on these videos. between a mother and her daughter. Uh and hearing her voice "Oh Mommy, I'll. help you with the with the bag." You.

know, just there's no animosity there, there's no violent tendencies there, there's no yelling, there's none of. that. So, sometimes the video of what. you're kind of looking for. because you know the end result, you. know the event that had took place. And. when you start looking videos and none. of that is on there, then you have to go. to the next. >> step. But it does provide a timeline. Yes, very important. You are absolutely. right about that. Timelines when it. comes to these are very important. because you could get statements from.

the people that are involved and those. get murky and cloudy and kind of on top. of each other. When you have a. definitive timeline because of video, that certainly helps out. But this could. help defense attorneys, right? In the. sense like if this is a woman who's. accused of murdering her daughter, do. you see anything on this tape that would. indicate this is something that was. about to happen or if she has the. ability to do this? I mean, in the tape you could argue she's caring. for her daughter. Yeah, no doubt about. it. And listen, defense attorneys have a job to do and. that's to defend their client and a.

video like this is certainly going to. help out. Now, through her attorney, Gupta maintains her innocence, insisting. that her daughter's death was. accidental, that it was a tragedy, wasn't a crime, accusing investigators. of rushing to judgment. But Tom, I want. to talk about this now. I want to talk. about one detail from a past interview. of Gupta's. I don't know if you saw. this. It is raising some eyebrows, okay? We found this video that is circulating. on YouTube from November 18th, 2022.

where a medical virtual discussion on. research that Gupta had published, she. was asked to share a fun fact about. herself. Here is what she said. I love adventure. sports. So, I guess not a lot of people. know about that. So, I love scuba. diving, snorkeling. Scuba diving and snorkeling. Remember. earlier we told everybody that according. to police, she said she couldn't swim. That's why she couldn't save her.

daughter. I mean, per the warrant, the. subject stated she attempted to remove. the victim from the pool. However, she. was unsuccessful due to the fact that. she's unable to swim. What do you make of that? That's a. problem. Yeah. >> Uh you know, your words come back to. haunt you sometimes uh when you're not. thinking obviously in the future of what. might take place and you just give it an. interview and be truthful in that. interview about things you like, things. you can do, uh you know, events that you go to that. you snorkel and swim and everything and.

then later on it's going to come back to. haunt you and this is a problem for her. I I I it's like riding a bike, right? Like once you know how to swim, once. you're it's not like you lose that. ability unless there's some sort of. tragic, you know, traumatic physical injury where you no. longer can swim. Um is this common where you see people. making statements, maybe particularly. online, particularly on social media. that come back to bite them and it. contradicts something that they say. later on? Sure. You know, we we we bust. on social media a lot in certain things.

and sometimes it works and sometimes it. helps out investigations when things. like this occur. And let's get something. straight, you know, Jess, you know, she's not swimming the English Channel. She's not swimming swimming in the. Atlantic Ocean. She's jumping into a. pool, grabbing a body that's probably 40. lb or so and getting it out of the water. and it's your daughter. All right? You. would move heaven and earth to take care. of one of your kids and try to do. everything you could for one of your. kids and the excuse of I can't swim when.

you're not really swimming. uh is her defense in this is going to. cause a problem. Now, something else. that I want to bring up with you are. custody issues, okay? Custody issues. that were uncovered. So, investigators. also learned that Gupta was in the. middle of a bitter custody battle with. her ex-husband, Dr. Saurabh Talathi, who. says that he had no idea that she had. taken their daughter out of Oklahoma. Court records show he'd been granted. temporary sole custody after claiming. Gupta interfered with Riya's medical. care and exhibited erratic behavior. He.

even petitioned the court for a. psychological evaluation citing quote. "unreasonable mood swings and concern. for the child's safety." When I say. that, how seriously do investigators. look at that? How do they weigh prior. concerns about erratic behavior or. interference with medical care? Is it. related to this case? Yes, it's a major. part of the investigation and I've said. it all the time, interviews are so vital. when it comes to family members' past. history, things you've done in the past.

and when it comes to custody battles, you nailed it. There are so many things. that come out when interviews are done, when there's specific custody battles. going on about the way people are. You. know, behind closed doors or behind. cameras, people are different. So, that's where you really get into the the. integral parts of a relationship when. you're dealing and talking to an. ex-spouse or spouse about their actions, statements they've made, anything like. that is going to be a big part in this.

Well, Dr. Neha Gupta remains behind bars. in Miami-Dade County. She's awaiting. trial on that second-degree murder. charge and court records show that she's. due back in court on November 13th for a. status hearing. We are obviously going. to keep following every development as. it unfolds because this is a case that. is constantly changing and evolving and. we're still trying to understand exactly. what happened to this little girl. Tom. Smith, good to see you. Thanks so much. for taking the time. >> Always a pleasure, Jess. And that is all. we have for you right now here on. Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much.

for joining us and as always, please. subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you should get your. podcast. You can follow me on X or. Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll see you. next time. [Music].