3-yr-old Sherin died of ‘homicidal violence’

Houston, January 3 

The much-awaited autopsy report in the death of 3-year-old Sherin Mathews says she died of “homicidal violence,” US media reported today, nearly three months after the adopted Indian girl was found dead in a culvert in suburban Dallas. Sherin went missing from her home in Richardson on October 7 and her body was found on October 22 in a culvert in suburban Dallas.  

Sherin died of “homicidal violence”, a law enforcement official in Dallas, Texas, confirmed to WFAA TV station, indicating manner of death for the girl. A cause of death could not be determined due to extensive decomposition, the official said.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

An earlier report had said the autopsy report of Sherin has been handed over to the attorneys for the adoptive Indian-American parents of Sherin - Wesley Mathews and Sini Mathews. During a child custody hearing in late November, a doctor testified before a court that Sherin, who was adopted from India, had broken bones and had injuries in various stages of healing, indicating abuse.

Initially, Sherin’s foster father Wesley told police that he put her outside their home at 3 am to discipline her for not drinking her milk. His story changed after her body was found in a culvert, telling police that he “physically assisted” with pouring the milk down Sherin’s throat and then moved her body after he realised she had choked and died.

Wesley also admitted to police that he removed Sherin’s body from the home after changing his story multiple times on the events leading up to her death. Wesley and his wife Sini also left Sherin home alone the night before her disappearance, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Wesley, 37, is charged with injury to a child, while the adoptive mother, Sini, 35, is charged with abandoning or endangering a child. Both are currently lodged in a Dallas jail. 

The attorney representing Sini Mathews said, “There is nothing in the autopsy results that indicate Sini Mathews had anything to do with the death of Sherin Mathews,” Mitch Nolte told WFAA in a statement. — PTI