Sherin Mathews News Update 2017: Father Admits to Watching Toddler Choke on Milk
Wesley Mathews, the father of an adopted girl named Sherin Mathews, has now changed his story. He claims that he saw his daughter, who was first reported to be missing, die as she choked on milk.
The 3-year-old girl was found dead on Sunday in a culvert about half a mile away from the Mathews' home in north Texas. Sherin was adopted last year from an orphanage in India.
Initially, Wesley, 37, stated that he left his daughter outside of their house at three in the morning on the 7th of October for refusing to drink her milk. He checked on her 15 minutes later and said she disappeared. The girl's adoptive father claimed he went back in, washed his clothes, and waited until the sun rose.
On Monday, Wesley voluntarily provided an alternate statement of events for authorities, in which he said he attempted to feed his daughter her milk in their garage. When she eventually started drinking, the 3-year-old started to choke. He checked her pulse, and could not feel any. He admitted to removing Sherin's body from their home.
"As he's giving us the information, it's coming together with the rest of the investigation. He's come to us, it's making sense to us," Richardson police said.
They added, "It's the worst type of case you get to work on where innocent children are harmed. We want to assure people that there's no predator or something like that out there."
Sherin's adoptive mother, Sini, has co-operated with identifying the young girl's body. She has not, however, given details of the child's disappearance.
The couple has a 4-year-old biological daughter who has been placed in foster care.
Wesley is currently being detained and charged with Injury to a Child. This is a first-degree felony that can be punishable by life or from 5 to 99 years in prison, the Richardson City Police stated.