A small, private funeral for three-year-old Texas toddler Sherin Mathews was held on Tuesday, according to her mother’s attorneys, Gregg Gibbs and Mitchell R. Nolte. The service was with respect to her family’s cultural heritage and religious beliefs, the News Minute reported.
Sherin was born July 14, 2014. She was adopted from an orphanage in Bihar, India, in June 2016. Sherin was discovered deceased in a culvert less than a mile from her family’s home in Richardson, TX, on October 22.
Little girl’s father in jail on $1 million bond, not at funeral service
The toddler’s father, Wesley Mathews, was not present at his daughter’s funeral service. He remains in custody at the Dallas County Jail, pending $1 million bond. Mathews, 37, was arrested and charged with felony injury to a child after the little girl’s body was positively identified by the medical examiner, who used dental records.
Mathews reportedly told police that his toddler daughter choked to death on milk he made her drink in the family’s garage at 3 AM on October 7. Rather than call 911, he removed her body from the family’s home.
Child’s mother, family, and friends focus on little girl in ‘Heaven,’ not on death on ‘earth’
Sini Mathews, the little girl’s mother, was at her service, along with family and friends. While ever-mindful of the “intense press and social media attention” on the case, Sherin’s family decided to hold a private burial ceremony.
The service was designed to keep the focus on “Sherin’s future in Heaven,” not centered on her heartbreaking death on earth, Gibbs and Nolte stated in a press release that was posted on Facebook by NBC 5 (Dallas-Fort Worth) reporter Maria Guerrero.
Toddler’s family and friends keeping child’s final resting place secret
The effect of “personal security concerns” and people threatening to desecrate Sherin’s grave, Gibbs and Nolte also explained, is the reason for not disclosing the location of the grave and keeping it secret. “Sherin deserves that assurance of peace,” the lawyers stated.
Sini Mathews’ attorneys also extended their appreciation on behalf of the little girl’s mother, family, and friends. The lawyers noted that Sherin’s family and friends “do appreciate the outpouring of love for Sherin,” and they also thanked everyone “for their kindness and prayers.”
Public prayer vigil for Sherin Mathews canceled by event host
On Thursday, Mayra Perez announced on Facebook that a prayer vigil and fellowship event scheduled for Friday to honor little Sherin was canceled. Perez, the event’s host, cited “tensions” between different groups and “certain individuals” led to the cancellation.
In making the public announcement, Perez further reminded everyone, “We are all supposed to be here for Sherin” and to continue seeking “justice for Sherin.” The last thing, she stated, that everyone needs is for “people to start personal conflicts and bickering.”
There is currently an interfaith memorial service that is “tentatively being planned,” Perez relayed on Facebook. The scheduled date, as of now, is Saturday, November 18. Perez asked that people “stay tuned” as event plans evolve and the respective information is posted.
