TEXAS: The father of missing three year old Texas girl Sherin Mathews, has been arrested as police said he changed his account of how his daughter disappeared. The arrest came a day after a yet-to-be-identified body of a small child was recovered. Authorities said Wesley Mathews has been charged with a first-degree felony after he showed up to the Richardson Police Station and gave an “alternate statement of events” about what happened to his adopted child. It remains unclear what he told the police in his new statement.
He had initially said she vanished on Saturday after he made her stand outside near a tree at three in the morning as punishment for not drinking her milk. He however, did not alert police about what happened to his daughter until about five hours after she went missing. The body of a small child was found on Monday during a search for Sherin, however, the body has not yet been officially identified. Sgt Kevin Perlich told reporters the body was “most likely her”. Mathews was arrested earlier for abandoning or endangering a child, but had posted bond. As part of his bail condition, he was required to surrender his passport and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet so authorities could track him at all times.
Sherin's four year old sister has been taken into custody by child protective services and placed in foster care. Detectives and FBI agents searched the suspect's house and later announced that someone left in the family's SUV at 4 am the day she disappeared and returned home within the hour. They said the victim's mother was asleep during the incident and has not been charged, however, it has been reported that she has stopped cooperating. Mathews and Sini had adopted Sherin two years ago from an orphanage in India. The father told the police she was malnourished and had to be on a special diet to gain weight. She had to be fed whenever she was awake.
