Parents lose right to see their biological daughter
Indian-American foster parents of deceased threeyear-old Sherin Mathews have lost their rights to see their biological daughter for now, a judge ruled.
Sherin, reported missing on October 7, was found dead in a culvert about 1km from her home in suburban Dallas on October 22 by a cadaver dog during a massive search for the missing toddler.
She was adopted by the Indian-American couple, Wesley and Sini Mathews, from an orphanage in India last year. Her adoptive parents lost custody of their biological child after Sherin went missing.
Wesley, 37 and Sini Mathews, 35 who were attempting to keep the visitation rights for their four-year-old biological daughter, after the death of Sherin will now have to wait as a court has found aggravated circumstances and has denied the couple of seeing their biological child until a former civil trial has taken place.
The state convinced a judge that Sini and Wesley are not fit to be parents due to what happened to Sherin and shouldn’t be able to visit their biological daughter. The 4-year-old will remain to live with her relatives outside Houston.
A hearing to determine a permanent cutoff of parental rights will likely take place in 2018.
Police arrested Sini on charges of child endangerment after the death of Sherin. According to investigators, Sini left Sherin home alone while she, her husband and their older daughter went out for dinner. The next day, Wesley reported Sherin was missing. Her body was later found in a culvert near the family’s home.
The Mathews are still entitled to a civil trial at a later date, but Child Protective Services (CPS) does not have to provide any family reunification services at this time.
Texas CPS does not have to provide services to Wesley and Sini that would help them reunite with their biological daughter, a judge ruled yesterday.
The couple has not lost parental rights, but they will not receive help from the state to regain custody of their daughter, the judge said.
The couple were expected to either surrender their parental rights for their 4-year-old daughter or have them terminated by the state during the initial hearing.
Wesley is facing more serious charges of inflicting injury to a child.
Police said Wesley told them his daughter died choking on milk that he forced her to drink. He admitted to moving her body. He turned off the location tracking on his phone when he is believed to have taken Sherin’s body to the culvert.
Both Sini and Wesley who remain in detention in Dallas County jail attended yesterday’s hearing. They remained present as a doctor, CPS investigator and a police detective offered testimony about the health of their daughter and the investigation into Sherin’s disappearance.
Dr Dakil, a pediatrician who had treated Sherin told the court that she did see the couple’s biological daughter on one occasion, during a physical examination before she entered foster care, and did not see any sign of neglect or abuse.
The second person to testify was CPS investigator Kelly Mitchell, who said Sini Mathews remained “eerily calm” and was “unemotional” when CPS showed up on October 9 to remove her biological daughter from the home.
Mitchell said she noticed several photographs of the couple’s biological daughter around the living room, but none of Sherin. According to Mitchell, the couple had a different connection with Sherin than they had with their biological daughter.
HOUSTAN: