Sherin Susan Mathews (14 July 2014 as Saraswati-2017) is an Indian American toddler who was found dead in a culvert in Richardson, Texas. She was reported missing by her adoptive father Wesley Mathews on October 7, 2017. Her body was found under a road in a culvert near her home and her adoptive father admitted to disposing the body.
Video Death of Sherin Mathews
Early life
Sherin Mathews was born as Saraswati in Nalanda, Bihar, India. Soon after her birth, her biological parents abandoned her. Sherin was found by a charity worker and taken to Nalanda Mother Teresa Anaath Seva Ashram, an adoption center run by Babita Kumari. Kumari recalled that Sherin used to call her ''Mumma''.
Wesley Mathews and his wife Sini Mathews, residents of Richardson, TX, adopted Sherin on July 18, 2016. Sherin lived with her adopted parents in Richardson, TX until she was reported missing in Oct, 2017. Sherin's death has led to the Indian government revising its adoption process to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Maps Death of Sherin Mathews
Disappearance
The Richardson Police were notified about Sherin's disappearance on October 7, 2017 at around 8 a.m. Wesley Mathews told police that Sherin was very undernourished when adopted from India and that, in order for her to gain weight, she should eat and drink whenever she was up. Wesley Mathews' initial report indicated that one of these feedings was attempted that morning at 3 a.m. However, Sherin did not want to drink her milk, and as punishment, he made her stand outside in a nearby alley. When Mathews went back outside to check on Sherin 15 minutes later, she was missing. Rather than report the disappearance immediately, Wesley Mathews said he did a load of laundry while figuring out what to do.
Investigation
Questions were raised as to why Sherin's parents had waited five hours to report her disappearance. On October 7, Wesley Mathews was arrested for child endangerment, for which he was later released on bail. Investigators began to further doubt his version of events after discovering that the family SUV had departed the Mathew household at approximately 4 a.m. the morning Sherin went missing. The SUV returned to the home before 5 a.m. on October 7, about three hours before Sherin's disappearance was reported to law enforcement.
Discovery of body
On October 22, 2017, the body of a small girl, later positively identified as Sherin Mathews, was found in a culvert near the Mathews' home. The same day, Wesley Mathews reported to the police station and changed his statement. According to the new testimony, when Sherin refused to drink the milk, he "physically assisted" her in drinking it; Sherin began to choke and subsequently died. He then disposed of Sherin's body in the culvert.
According to Sherin's pediatrician, Dr. Suzanne Dakil, Sherin had injuries in various stages of healing and multiple broken bones. In response to this finding, which she identified as signs of abuse, Dr. Dakil alerted Child Protective Services. Sherin had also been hospitalized multiple times for skin and joint infections. One of Sini Mathews' explanations for the broken bones was that Sherin's older sister pushed her off a couch; upon another hospitalization, Sini Mathews stated that Sherin fell off some playground equipment. Sini Mathews told Dr. Dakil that Sherin had brittle bones as a result of the poor diet she'd had in India. However, the doctor determined that the injuries had occurred after Sherin left India.
On January 3, 2018, Sherin's cause of death was reported as "homicidal violence" by the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office.
Arrests
Wesley Mathews was initially arrested for child endangerment and was released on bail. After the child's body was discovered and Wesley changed his statement, he was re-arrested on a charge of felony injury to a child. Wesley remains in jail on a bond of $1 million. On August 1, 2018 his bail was dropped to $500 thousand. On November 16, 2017, Sini Mathews turned herself in to the police, and remains in jail on a bond of $250,000. She was charged with child abandonment after police alleged she left Sherin home alone on the night of October 6.
See also
- List of people who disappeared mysteriously
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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