Inset: Neha Gupta (Oklahoma City Police Dept.). Background: The Miami pool where Gupta's child was found dead (KOCO).
A 36-year-old Oklahoma pediatrician accused of killing her 4-year-old daughter and "staging" the child's death to look like an accidental drowning is now asking a Florida judge to order jail officials to protect her from another inmate she says has repeatedly assaulted and threatened to kill her while she awaits trial.
Neha Gupta, who is charged with first-degree murder in her daughter's death, filed an emergency motion in Miami-Dade County seeking a separation order directing the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center to house her away from another inmate, records show.
In the motion, Gupta alleges the inmate previously attacked her and repeatedly struck her in the face before threatening to kill her. The filing also alleges that one of the inmate's "associates" attacked Gupta.
According to the motion, the first alleged attack occurred on Jan. 26, when Gupta was alone inside her jail cell.
The filing alleges the inmate entered Gupta's cell and "proceeded to punch" her "in the face repeatedly," causing facial bruising and permanently damaging her prescription glasses. Prosecutors subsequently charged the inmate in connection with that alleged assault, the motion states, and jail officials temporarily moved her to another housing unit.
But the filing says the inmate was returned to Gupta's housing unit in June.
On July 17, Gupta alleges she was locked inside her cell when the inmate approached the door, began pounding on it and yelled, "I am going to kill you."
The motion also references another incident between the two on July 20. Four days later, Gupta alleges she "was again attacked by one of" the inmate's associates, adding that the incident is currently being investigated by the Department of Corrections.
The motion identifies the inmate as Daisy Link, an accused murderer who, as Law&Crime previously reported, got pregnant while in custody without ever actually meeting the child's father in person. Link, who gave birth to a girl in August 2024, has allegedly assaulted multiple inmates while behind bars.
Defense attorney Richard Cooper wrote in the motion that he has unsuccessfully attempted to have either Gupta or the other inmate moved to a different housing unit. He asked the court to enter an order requiring jail officials to immediately separate the two inmates, stressing that Gupta is "in fear" for her safety while she remains jailed pending resolution of her criminal case. The court had not yet ruled on the request.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Gupta was arrested after authorities alleged she killed her 4-year-old daughter while the two were staying at an Airbnb in the Miami area and then placed the child's body in a backyard swimming pool in an attempt to make the death appear accidental.
Police initially responded to a 911 call reporting a drowning after Gupta told investigators she awoke during the early morning hours to discover her daughter missing from bed and submerged in the pool. She claimed she unsuccessfully tried for about 10 minutes to rescue the child before calling 911.
But investigators said the medical examiner determined the girl's lungs and stomach contained no water, ruling out drowning as the cause of death. The autopsy also documented injuries inside the child's mouth that authorities said were consistent with asphyxiation by smothering and concluded the child was already dead before being placed in the pool, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Investigators ultimately alleged Gupta killed her daughter and attempted to "conceal the killing" by staging an accidental drowning.
She has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed without bond as she awaits trial, records show.