Texas father changes story about
toddler's death: police
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[October 25, 2017]
By Bernie Woodall
(Reuters) - The Texas father who told
police his 3-year-old daughter disappeared after he sent her outside at
3 a.m. as punishment for not drinking milk has now told police she died
from choking on the drink, according to an arrest warrant issued on
Tuesday.
Wesley Mathews reported that his daughter Sherin went missing on Oct. 7
from the family's home in Richardson, Texas, outside Dallas. Her body
was found on Sunday and has been positively identified by the local
medical examiner, police said on Tuesday.
Mathews, 37, changed his story about the incident during a meeting on
Monday with his attorney and detectives, according to police documents.
He told detectives that the child, who was born in India and adopted by
the family, would not obey his instruction to drink the milk while they
were in the family's garage but eventually complied with his help.
She then "began to choke. She was coughing and her breathing slowed,"
the affidavit said. "Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse
on the child and believed she had died."
The suspect admitted moving her body from the home, the affidavit said.
Mathews was charged on Monday with injury to a child, a first-degree
felony that carries a maximum punishment of 99 years in prison, police
said.
Sergeant Kevin Perlich of the Richardson Police Department said in a
phone interview on Tuesday that investigators were seeking answers to
many questions, including why the two were in the garage as the child
was asked to drink milk.
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Wesley Mathews, 37, arrested for suspected child endangerment for
the treatment of his three-year old daughter after he punished her
for not drinking her milk by telling her to stand outside by herself
at night near an alley behind her home, is shown in this police
booking photo in Richardson, Texas, U.S., provided October 9, 2017
Richardson Police Department/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
"By no means do we consider this investigation completed," Perlich
said, adding there could be additional charges and arrests.
Mathews' attorney did not return a call on Tuesday requesting
comment.
Mathews previously was charged with suspected child endangerment
after telling police that he punished the child for not drinking her
milk by making her stand next to a tree by an alley near their home.
At the time, he said he checked on her 15 minutes later and she was
gone. Police said that he reported her disappearance about five
hours later.
Sherin Mathews was identified by dental records after officers using
search dogs found her body in a culvert under a road, police said.
(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla; Editing by
Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney)
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