Days after prosecutors amended the charges against a mother accused of killing her young daughter, new video of the suspect has resurfaced.
A new video found on YouTube shows 36-year-old pediatrician Neha Gupta discussing water sports, something she says she and her daughter had been participating in the day she was found dead.
“Are you comfortable sharing a fun fact about you with our viewers?” a colleague asked Gupta in the video.
“Yes, so I love adventure sports, so I guess not a lot of people know about that, so I love scuba diving, snorkeling, and skydiving, so I have done that too and it has been a lot of fun,” responded Gupta in the video.
Gupta faces a second-degree murder charges after her initial first-degree murder charge was lessened Wednesday for the murder of her 4-year-old daughter in which she has pleaded not guilty.
“The state filed an amended information at this time, your honor, charging the defendant with second-degree murder, which is a non-bondable offense,” said the state prosecutor during the hearing.
Authorities responded to calls of a reported drowning at the home on Northwest 90th Street early June 27, where Gupta’s 4-year-old daughter was found floating in the pool of a vacation rental home in El Portal.
First responders rushed the young girl to a nearby hospital, where she ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
“She’s a pediatrician, okay, she should have been able to save that child in some regard,” said Deborah Moreau who lives next to the rental home.
Through her autopsy, the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner determined that the daughter’s lungs and stomach did not contain water, stating that in her opinion, the child was deceased prior to being placed in the swimming pool.
The doctors preliminary findings showed that the injuries were consistent with asphyxiation by smothering.
Gupta’s attorney, Michael Mirer, maintained his client’s innocence via a July statement, writing, quote, “What could be more devastating than losing your daughter in a tragic accident, only to then be jailed and accused of causing her death? Dr. Gupta did not kill her daughter.”
Investigators said Gupta and her daughter were staying in the short term rental after traveling from their Oklahoma City home, where authorities say they located Doctor Gupta and took her into custody.
Gupta’s attorneys appeared on her behalf via zoom inside the courtroom Friday morning, with the prosecution requesting an Arthur Hearing from the judge.
While no date is set for that, if granted, it would allow Gupta’s defense attorney’s to argue on her behalf, and potentially having her released on bond before the start of her trial which is set for Dec. 1.