

Megha Saluja Florida woman arrested in shooting death of her girlfriend, Alana Miccolis. Formal indictment comes months after victim was found dead at an Orange County hotel in what was initially believed to be a suicide.
A 27 year old Florida woman has been arrested in connection to the shooting death of her marine biologist girlfriend found dead at an Orange County hotel in December.
Megha Saluja was booked and taken into custody on a charge of ‘first degree murder with a firearm’ in the shooting death of Alana Miccolis, 27, who was found deceased at the Waldorf Astoria on Bonnet Creek Resort Lane on December 8, 2023.
The woman’s arrest follows investigators with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office saying that the crime scene was initially thought to be a possible suicide.
Victim and suspect were in relationship
Nevertheless detectives ‘felt something’ was not right and that Miccolis’ death could have been a homicide, WFTV reported.
The Sheriff’s Office said the suspect, Megha Saluja, and the victim were in a relationship.
The State Attorney’s Office presented the information to a grand jury.
Orange County deputies said Saluja was arrested on June 1 after the grand jury indictment. She now remains in custody without bond at Orange County Jail as the woman now awaits trial.
No other information was provided.
Miccolis was a 27-year-old University of Central Florida graduate from Tampa who was a Marine Biologist. A previous obituary described her as a scuba diver and Marine Biologist volunteer at the Florida Aquarium. The obit did not state the nature and cause of Miccolis’ death, only to note she had ‘passed away.’

‘Justice for AlanaM’
Posted the victim’s sister, Charlene Miccolis yesterday on Facebook following Saluja’s arrest:
‘On December 8th 2023 my sister was taken from us forever.
A grand jury indicted the person responsible and she was arrested on June 1st 2024.
Now we wait for trial.
We’d like to thank the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for all of their efforts.
Thank you everyone for continuing to respect our privacy.
Thank you for praying for our family as we continue to navigate the impossible. Thank you for praying for justice. #JusticeForAlanaM.’
According to a previous social media post, Charlene said Alana’s biggest dream was to find a way to save the ocean by protecting reefs and coral restoration.
Authorities to date declined to say how the two women came to know each other, how long they were ‘romantically involved and what ultimately led to Saluja allegedly shooting her lover dead.