Mother of Dead Texas Toddler Arrested

Sini Mathews, the adoptive mother of 3-year-old Sherin who was found dead in a culvert near her home in Richardson, Texas, last month, was arrested on Nov. 16. She turned herself in to police on Nov. 16, and faces charges of child endangerment and abandonment. Her bail has been set at $250,000.

Sini, her husband, Wesley Mathews, and their biological daughter went out for dinner on Oct. 6, the night before the toddler went missing, according to an affidavit issued by the Richardson police department. The restaurant is located around five miles away from their home, and the couple’s presence there was confirmed by the police through their cell phone records. An itemized receipt also showed that only one child’s meal was bought by the couple. A waiter serving at the restaurant confirmed that only one child was present with the couple.

They were away from their home for over an hour and a half, leaving Sherin alone without any adult supervision. The child was placed “in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment,” Detective J Farmer wrote in Sini Mathews’ arrest warrant.

The affidavit adds that Wesley Mathews confessed on Oct. 23, a day after the child’s body was discovered around a mile away from their home, that he grew impatient when Sherin refused to drink her milk, and told the police that he asked his wife to accompany him for dinner outside, and she agreed. Sherin was in the kitchen when they left the house, and was still there when they returned.

Sini Mathews arrested today. Arrest affidavit posted on our website at https://t.co/HEIVgDrYiq pic.twitter.com/1yrGOwPvcb

— Richardson Police (@RichardsonTX_PD) November 16, 2017

Wesley had also said that the toddler choked on her milk at 3 am on Oct. 7, following which he disposed her dead body outside their house. He was charged with child endangerment and faces life sentence. He is in jail on a bail of $1 million.

Sherin was adopted 17 months ago from an orphanage at Nalanda in Bihar. Her funeral was conducted privately in Texas and the service was not attended by Wesley Mathews and their biological daughter. The results of her autopsy are still awaited.

Sini’s arrest comes on the heels of her efforts to gain custody of her biological child, who remains in foster care.