Hearing for a new trial set for August 2.
When the body of 3-year-old adopted Indian American girl Sherin Mathews was found in a narrow 75-foot long culvert in Richardson, TX, in October 2017, it shook the entire community.
But what followed was an account even more gory than the initial details.
Last month, Richardson resident and father of the girl, Wesley Mathews, was sentenced to life in prison in connection with Sherin’s death. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, injury to child by omission, and thus was able to escape capital punishment.
But now Mathews has filed a motion challenging the life sentence and requesting a new trial.
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At the time of the sentence in June, Mathews had said that he will accept any punishment.
According to the local news outlet nbcdfw.com, attorney Brook Busbee claimed that the jurors became prejudiced after seeing graphic photographs of Sherin’s badly decomposed body that her client did not receive a fair trial.
The hearing for a new trial is on August 2.
Busbee claimed that the members of the jury were prejudiced when they were shown evidence of broken bones the child suffered before her death, even though there was no link proving Mathews caused the injuries.
Mathews who was serving his sentence at the Dallas County Jail is now being transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He will be assigned a permanent prison unit.
Mathews would be eligible for parole only after serving 30 years in prison.
Mathews and his wife, Sini Mathews, had adopted Sherin from an orphanage in India in 2016.
The couple told police, on October 7, 2017, that their adopted daughter went missing after Wesley Mathew ordered her to stand out in the backyard at 3 am as a punishment for not drinking milk.
The body of the 3-year-old was found dumped in a culvert after an extensive search.
Father Wesley Mathews had said that Sherin died while choking on milk in their garage. Out of fear he failed to call his wife, Sini, who is a nurse, he said at the time. He also dumped the body in the culvert.
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