When people think they have seen the lowest of the low someone can go, along comes 37-year-old Wesley Mathews reminding everyone that no one has seen everything yet. The Richardson, TX, man who, along with his wife, adopted three-year-old Sherin Mathews from an orphanage in India on June 23, 2016, amply demonstrated on Monday what a father is not in America.
Mathews has proved to police and the public that his word is worthless. Sherin Mathews was not missing. Her so-called father knew all along that he was responsible for removing the child’s lifeless body from the upscale Richardson neighborhood home he shared with his wife, Sini, and two little girls.
Lengthy prison time accompanies admissions made to Richardson police
It is highly doubtful that Mathews will be returning to the house on Sunningdale any time in the near future. After all, Mathews told Richardson police that he abandoned and knowingly left Sherin outside alone, endangering her. His admissions to law enforcement are punishable with quite a lengthy prison term if he is convicted.
Wesley Mathews lied to law enforcement about punishment over milk
From October 7 until October 22, Mathews lied to law enforcement, claiming that Sherin disappeared as a result of a reprehensible form of discipline over some milk at 3 AM. Mathews may be the only person who understands how his own mind works.
People worldwide did not believe a word of his story from the moment it made the news.
His method of discipline defies everything that entails being a parent. No parent forces a toddler to stay outside alone in the dark, next to an alley and railroad tracks for refusing to drink milk. The coyotes he reportedly sighted in the area embellished the gravity of the situation for the child thousands upon thousands of people came to know was missing.
Account presented one element of truth until Sherin’s body was found
Mathews’ account of what happened to his little girl, as bizarre as it seemed, had a definite component of truth: Sherin could not be found by anyone searching. October 22 that changed – when police and canines found her body in a culvert less than one mile from the family home.
As horrifying as Mathews’ initial tall-tale sounded, his second-round of giving police his spin on events. That led to Sherin’s disappearance, is even more atrocious. He voluntarily went to police on Monday with his criminal defense lawyer at his side, was Mirandized, and still decided to come clean. Well, that may not be true either, but what he did state is that Sherin was in the garage with him when she wouldn’t listen and drink – oh, here we go again – milk.
Sherin choked on milk, dies, but dad doesn’t call 911 or shout out to RN mom
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Mathews’ “physically assisted” the tiny child after she started drinking the milk. Huh? If she was already drinking it, why would she need his assistance – whatever that is supposed to mean?
Mathews told police that she choked, coughed, and had distressed breathing, which allegedly “slowed.” When Mathews could not feel Sherin’s pulse, he stated to authorities that he “believed she had died,” the affidavit also noted. He told police that he removed Sherin’s lifeless body from the home.
At a minimum, his narrative is as equally disturbing as it is troubling. While at most, Mathews’ account is, once again, exemplary for a demonstrable liar. Richardson police stated in earlier news reports that both Mathews and his wife, Sini, claimed that she heard not a thing because she was asleep from 3 AM until after her husband called police at approximately 8 AM. That’s roughly the time that he notified authorities that Sherin was allegedly missing.
Well, by golly, that certainly raises a very important question if everyone is to believe that the little girl’s so-called mother was in the home asleep. Why didn’t Mathews’ shout out to his wife and ask for help? She should know what to do, considering Mrs. Mathews is a registered nurse licensed in the state of Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, she works at Dallas Children’s Medical Center.
Possibly, she could not have heard him yelling for her since she was sound asleep and he was reportedly in the garage when he gave Sherin milk to drink. They may have been out of range. Or, as many are asking on social media: Was Sini Mathews really inside the home asleep?
With a bit of wiggle room that might explain why he didn’t summons her for help immediately, it raises a secondary question.
Why didn’t Mathews call 911? Oh, that’s right, he preferred to wait five long hours as the little girl was in a dire situation while he was responsible for her care.
No one has a right to judge Wesley Mathews, except parents in his shoes
Unless parents have been in his shoes, some may say, no one has a right to judge Wesley Mathews. That is so very true. It would be nice to hear from all the parents who have ever given a sleepy child milk at 3 AM while standing in their garages. Mostly, it would help endorse his account if parents step forward who hasn't dialed 911 during or immediately following a crisis with a child.
There is another important category of parents who should not be slighted, but they don’t need to say anything.
We know what they did when they took their toddler’s lifeless body out of the home and told no one where to find the child. They’re the parents who made friends while in prison.
Justice for Sherin Mathews will prevail
All the best to you, Wesley Mathews and your defense lawyer when the time comes for you to explain yourself to a judge and, possibly, a jury. Felony injury to a child carries the possibility of up to 99 years in prison.
For all that Sherin Mathews was forced to suffer on October 7 at the hands of a man who called himself her father, no sentence will make up for what the toddler must have felt and how frightened she must have been looking into his eyes. He did not deserve such a sweet-faced, innocent, and beautiful little girl with a smile that melted so many hearts.
The justice system won’t overlook what happened to Sherin Mathews. Richardson Police Department, the FBI, the medical examiner, along with the numerous people who assisted in finding the little girl will remember the deplorable admissions made to law enforcement by her “father.”
Police have assured that the criminal charges are subject to modification, pending the medical examiner’s findings. We’ll see what happens if Wesley Mathews has lied once again. If it is determined that he intended to injure Sherin, the charges can elevate to capital punishment. Justice for Sherin Mathews will ultimately prevail. For now, however, the toddler loved by so many around the globe may finally feel peace.