An Oklahoma City pediatrician, Dr. Neha Gupta, has been arrested on a Miami-Dade County warrant charging her with first-degree murder in the death of her four-year-old daughter, Aria Talathi. Gupta, 36, was taken into custody on 2 July and is being held without bond in the Oklahoma County Jail while Florida authorities seek her extradition. According to an arrest affidavit, Gupta and her daughter traveled to a short-term rental home in El Portal, north of Miami, on 25 June. Gupta called 911 at about 3:40 a.m. on 27 June, reporting that Aria had drowned in the property’s pool. The child was pronounced dead at a hospital at 4:28 a.m. A medical examiner found Aria’s lungs and stomach were dry and noted bruising inside her cheeks, injuries investigators say are consistent with smothering. Detectives allege Gupta placed the child in the pool after death to make the fatal asphyxiation appear to be an accidental drowning. Surveillance footage and rental records indicate mother and daughter were the only occupants of the home. The affidavit also states that Gupta and Aria’s father were embroiled in a custody dispute and that he was unaware the pair had left Oklahoma. Gupta had been suspended from patient care and given notice of termination by OU Health on 30 May, weeks before the trip. Defense attorney Richard Cooper said Gupta cooperated fully with investigators and called the arrest premature, adding that he plans to request an independent autopsy. The Miami-Dade medical examiner’s office has yet to issue a final ruling on cause and manner of death.