Abandoned at birth, little Sherin was adopted by Wesley and Sini Mathews from an orphanage in Bihar, India. She later moved to Richardson, Texas to be with her new family until she was reported missing on October 7, 2017.
The 3-year-old's badly decomposed body wrapped in a trash bag would be discovered 15 days later in a culvert near her home. Medical records would show that the toddler had several broken bones in various stages of healing which hinted at the fact that she suffered abuse during her stay with her adoptive parents.
Her father, Wesley, would later claim that due to malnourishment, it was advised that Sherin be fed whenever she was awake. He had tried to feed her milk at 3 am and when she refused, he said he made her stand in an alley outside their home as punishment. When Wesley went to check on the toddler 15 minutes later, he allegedly discovered the child missing. However, he did not report her disappearance immediately and waited until after he had done a load of laundry.
According to lead prosecutor Jason Fine, little Sherin Mathews died from choking over milk that she was force-fed by her father: "This whole thing was about anger and frustration over milk." He accused the defendant, Wesley Mathews, of acting out of anger when his daughter wouldn't finish the doctor had prescribed for her nutrition.
Following a sensation case that attracted global attention, it took just 3 hours for the jurors to arrive at a unanimous decision on the punishment for Wesley Mathews. He was sentenced to life in prison and per reports, the verdict elicited very little reaction from the defendant who kept staring straight ahead.
In an uncorroborated claim that was later dismissed, it was reported that Wesley and Sini left 3-year-old Sherin at home by herself while they went off to have dinner at a restaurant along with their biological daughter.
Charges against Sini Mathews were dropped and she was allowed to go scot-free as no evidence was found linking her to Sherin's death.
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