HOUSTON – Sherin Mathews, a 3-year-old Indian girl who was found dead in a culvert after being reported missing by her foster father, had a series of broken bones and injuries in various stages of healing, a doctor testified before the court.
Sherin, reported missing on October 7, was found dead in a culvert about 1 km from her home in suburban Dallas on October 22. Her autopsy report is still awaited.
She was adopted by the Indian-American couple, Wesley and Sini Mathews, from an orphanage in India last year. Her adoptive parents lost custody of their biological child after Sherin went missing.
Her parents appeared before a court yesterday for a long Child Protective Services (CPS) custody hearing about their biological daughter, currently living with relatives in the Houston-area.
Wesley was brought to the courthouse in a van. He is expected to either surrender his parental rights for his 3- year-old daughter or have them terminated by the state.
Sini, who aims to regain custody of her biological daughter sought right to visit her.
Sini took to the witness stand first, but invoked her fifth amendment right not to incriminate herself many times during questioning. One exception came when she was asked if she is trained a nurse — to which she responded, “yes”.
When Wesley took the stand, he opted to invoke his fifth amendment right as well and answered no questions pertaining to Sherin’s death or disappearance.
Prosecution pressed Sini about the previous CPS involvement, alleging Sherin earlier had a broken femur, elbow and tibia, but she did not confirm the allegations.
The prosecution called to the stand a pediatrician and child abuse expert, Susan Dakil of Referral and Evaluation of At Risk Children Clinic, who testified that the injuries were visible in various X-ray scans taken in September 2016 and February 2017. Dakil said the scans suggest the injuries were inflicted after Sherin was adopted from India.
The X-rays from February showed that fractures in Sherin’s tibia and femur were in different stages of healing, WFAA reported.
The pattern of injuries led Dakil to believe that Sherin was injured on separate occasions, but she could not say when they occurred. The doctor filed a report with Child Protective Services after seeing the X-rays, the station reported.
The hearing, which ended for the week, will resume on Tuesday. Two more witnesses are scheduled to take the stand.
Sherin Mathews had a series of broken bones and injuries, a doctor testified before the court.
Mathews, reported missing on October 7, was found dead on October 22.
Her foster father was arrested and charged with felony injury to a child,
Sini, who is behind bars on child endangerment charges, had her bond reduced from $250,000 to $100,000 on Monday.
Wesley was arrested and charged with felony injury to a child, which carries a sentence of up to life in prison. He is still in the Dallas County jail on a $1 million bond.
