Oklahoma pediatrician officially charged for allegedly killing her daughter

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FL. (KFOR) - The case against a former OU Health pediatrician, accused of killing her daughter, is moving forward.

Neha Gupta is accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter and staging her death to look like a drowning.

Gupta was expected in court Thursday morning, but was not there. Her attorney mentioned that she was quarantined at the jail, but they still moved forward with her charges.

Gupta was originally arrested after an arrest warrant was issued for first-degree murder.

Thursday morning, at Gupta's arraignment hearing, the state attorney changed the charges.

"The charges at this time, your honor, the state has filed are aggravated manslaughter charges," said Kathleen Hoague, Assistant State Attorney for Florida.

A plea of not guilty was entered by Gupta's attorney, despite her absence.

The state attorney also made a motion to keep Gupta in jail until the trial. Court documents say that based on Gupta's past and present patterns of behavior, she poses a threat of harm to the community.

Adding, if Gupta is released, she will leave the country for India.

"With regard to the risk of flight, the state has two jail calls, which we intend to introduce on that issue," said Hoague.

Hoague says that the phone calls are of Gupta speaking with a family while in jail, speaking in Hindi. The state attorney is waiting for translation and certification of the phone call transcripts to prove if she is a flight risk.

Gupta's attorney says Thursday's hearing was a vindication for her.

"Circumstances have dramatically changed, and the affidavit that was filed by the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Department, where it indicates that she intentionally drowned her child, is no longer valid," said Michael Mirer, attorney for Neha Gupta. "Our position from day one was that this was a rush to judgment, and this is just a validation of that."

It's unknown why Gupta is in quarantine. She is still being held without bond.