The reason for the 3-year-old’s death is yet to be determined by medical examiners.
Wesley and Sini Mathews, the Indian American adoptive parents of Sherin Mathews, the three-year-old Indian girl who was found dead in a culvert last month, cannot visit their biological daughter as a Dallas judge has ruled against them having contact with the child.
According to a CBS report, Cheryl Lee Shannon ruled in favor of the Child Protective Service (CPS) finding “aggravated circumstances.”
The child has been living with her relatives in Houston after having removed from foster care. The parents have been trying to regain the custody of their daughter after she was removed from foster care.
But, the court ruled that the couple shouldn’t be allowed to visit the toddler as they couldn’t protect their children.
“They have each failed to protect the children in their home,” Dallas County prosecutor Denise Hale said at a custody hearing Tuesday. “The father has told many lies.”
A physician who had treated Sherin Mathews had testified before the court that the child had bone fractures when she was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with “failure to thrive,” meaning she fell below the normal growth curve.
She said that she had informed the Child Protective Service about her concerns suspecting child abuse.
The doctor testified that the medical tests showed the girl was physically abused more than one time. This ruled out the arguments of Sini that the fracture happened when Sherin slipped on the side and the possibility of injuries related to her time in India.
Kelly Mitchell, a Texas Child Protective Services officer, testified on Tuesday that Sini Mathews was “was eerily calm,” and not emotional when she came home to remove their biological child.
“I really took note of it because typically a mother would be very upset about her child being removed,” Mitchell said.
Wesley Mathews also arrived home after posting bond following his initial arrest for child endangerment. But Sini “did not appear upset with him in any way,” she said.
She also informed the court that she found many photos of Sherin’s sister in the home, but none of Sherin, an indication of the discrimination shown by the couple against Sherin.
Wesley Mathew’s attorney said the couple didn’t have different relationships with their two daughters and they loved their daughters “very much the same,” even though they didn’t display Sherin’s photos at home.
Wesley Mathews has been charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony, and Sherin has been charged with child abandonment or endangerment.
Sini Mathews was arrested this month after investigators said she and her husband left Sherin at home, without adult supervision, while they went to dinner with their three-year-old biological daughter on October 6.
Sherin, who was adopted by Sini Mathews and Wesley Mathews from an orphanage in Bihar, India, was found missing on October 7. After several days of search, police found her body in a culvert, about a mile from her home.
Initially, Wesley Mathews gave a false statement to the police that he punished the girl for not drinking milk by forcing her to stand outside of the house around midnight, and found her missing when he returned. Later, he confessed that the girl chocked to death when he tried force feeding her.
The reason for the 3-year-old’s death is yet to be determined by medical examiners.