Sherin’s mother charged with child abandonment
Houston, Nov. 17: The foster mother of 3- year- old Indian girl Sherin Mathews found dead last month in a culvert in Dallas has been arrested and charged with child abandonment, with police alleging that the IndianAmerican couple left the toddler in the kitchen alone and went out for dinner.
Sini Ann Mathews and husband Wesley Mathews, who was arrested last month, went out for dinner with their 3- year- old biological daughter October 6, the night before she was reported missing by her adoptive father.
The couple from Kerala, allegedly left Sherin alone in the kitchen because she refused to drink her milk, police in Richardson, Texas said on Thursday.
The 35- year- old mother was arrested on Thursday after her attorney took her to the Richardson police station.
She is being held in the Richardson jail on a charge of abandoning or endangering a child, a state jail felony. Bail has been set at $ 250,000, police said. Ms Sini, a nurse who works at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, could face different or additional charges, Perlich said on the case which has been widely reported in the international media. Ms Sini appeared before a court to regain custody of her biological daughter, who is expected to be moved at some point out of foster care to live with an extended family member.
A state jail felony in Texas is an offense that is punishable by confinement in a state jail facility from six months up to two years.
“This all stems from this ongoing investigation with Sherin. It’s sort of a culmination of everything we’ve got so far,” police Sergeant Kevin Perlich said.