Missing 3-yr-old Indian girl’s father re-arrested
HOUSTON: The foster father of a missing 3- year-old Indian girl was arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree felony injury to a child, a day after the body of a child was found in a culvert near their home in suburban Dallas.
Wesley Mathews, 37, was arrested after the Indian- American changed his story about his adoptive daughter Sherin’s mysterious disappearance over two weeks ago, police in Richardson city, Texas, said.
Mathews had previously claimed that Sherin went missing after he sent her outside their home at around 3 a.m. on October 7 as punishment for not drinking her milk.
“He voluntarily arrived at the Richardson Police Station with his attorney and asked to speak with detectives. He provided an alternate statement of events from those which he had given previously, regarding the disappearance of Sherin,” Richardon Police Department Spokesman Sergeant Kevin Perlich said.
The particulars of his statements that might have led to the charge have not yet been explained by authorities.
Mathews, who hails from Kerala, was booked into the Richardson City Jail on a $1 million bond.
First-degree felony injury to a child is punishable by up to life imprisonment or from five to 99 years in prison, US media reported.
Sherin, who has developmental issues and limited verbal communication skills, was last seen outside her family’s backyard in Richardson city on October 7.
Mathews and his wife Sini reportedly adopted Sherin two years ago from Bihar.
On Monday, the Richardson Police announced that they discovered the remains of a small child in a tunnel beneath a road, expressing apprehension that it was “most likely” that of Sherin. They, however, did not confirm the identity.
The body was discovered in a culvert beneath a road with the help of search dogs.
Police have not released any details about how the child died. The body was found about one km from the house of Mathews.