US: Dad pleads guilty in death of child adopted from Bihar orphanage

Wesley and his wife, who were originally from Kerala, adopted Sherin in 2016

Sherin Wesley Mathews (File) A collage of Sherin Mathews and Wesley Mathews

The shocking saga of the death of three-year-old Sherin Mathews, an Indian-origin child, in Texas in 2017 approached its end as her adoptive father pleaded guilty in the trial over her death on Monday. Sherin's disappearance and death in October 2017 made international headlines.

Wesley Mathews, her adoptive father, was due to start his trial for capital murder for Sherin's death on Monday in the town of Richardson near Dallas.

However, Wesley pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of 'injury to a child by omission'. This lesser charge eliminates the prospect of Wesley receiving the mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole, if he were found guilty in a full trial. The lesser charge carries a sentence of anything ranging from probation to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The punishment phase of Wesley's trial will now proceed.

Wesley and his wife Sini, who were natives of Kerala and settled in Richardson, adopted Sherin from an orphanage in Bihar in 2016. Sherin was reported to have development issues due to malnutrition.

Wesley reported Sherin missing on the morning of October 7, 2017, claiming he had left her near a tree outside their house after midnight as punishment for not drinking milk. Wesley was arrested shortly afterwards. Sherin's body was found dumped in a drainage ditch about 1.5km from their home in Richardson on October 22 that year. Wesley then changed his story to say “Sherin choked on the milk when he was physically assisting her”. Her body was found in a very decomposed state that made ascertaining her cause of death very difficult.

Wesley claimed Sini, a nurse, was asleep at the time. Sini was arrested in November 2017 for abandoning a child after it was revealed she and Wesley had left Sherin alone at home the night before she was reported missing. Sini was released from jail and charges dropped against her in March for want of evidence. The Mathews lost custody of their biological daughter in 2018. In 2018, doctors claimed Sherin had suffered repeated fractures to her bones.

During the initial hearing for the trial on Monday, prosecutors showed video footage from the portable cameras the responding officers wore when arriving at the Mathews's home. The jury were told of the discrepancies in Wesley's story and the fact he was doing his laundry when Sherin went missing.

The prosecution also called therapists who treated Sherin, who said the Mathews had missed appointments.

The Sherin Mathews case led to demands to change laws in both the US and India. In Texas, officials planned a 'Sherin's law' to punish parents and guardians who abandon minor children. In India, the government moved to tighten adoption procedures, requiring mandatory checks on adopted children.