The father of a missing three-year-old Texas girl, who told police he forced the child to stand outside alone as punishment for not drinking her milk, now says she choked on the beverage and that he dumped her body.
On Tuesday, police confirmed the body of a small child found on Sunday morning is in fact the body of Sherin Mathews. The girl was reported missing on Oct. 7. Her father, Wesley Mathews, has been charged with felony injury to a child, a first-degree charge punishable by up to life in prison.
Police noted the cause of death is still pending.
In a statement, the Richardson Police Department said the father voluntarily arrived at a police station with his lawyer where he asked to speak with detectives. Police said he then “provided an alternate statement of events from those which he had given previously, regarding the disappearance of Sherin.”
According to the arrest affidavit, the father changed his story, saying that he had been trying to get the child to drink her milk in the family’s garage, but she wouldn’t listen to him. Mathews eventually began to drink the milk and the father then began to physically assist the child, according to the affidavit.
However, the child began to choke and her breathing slowed. After no longer feeling a pulse the father said he believed the girl had died. According to the affidavit, he then admitted to removing her body from the home.
Since being reported missing on Oct. 7, Richardson police have been searching for the child, who disappeared after her father originally said he had ordered her to stand next to a tree behind a fence at their home at around 3 a.m.
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The 37-year-old adoptive father was previously arrested for suspected child endangerment for the treatment of his daughter and was later released on bond. He had also told police he went to check on her about 15 minutes after he ordered her outside, only to find her gone.
The father originally said he had seen coyotes in the alley near where he told his daughter to stand, the affidavit said.
On Sunday, the body of a small child was found during the search for Mathews.
“Today, at approximately 11 a.m. during one of those search operations the body of a small child was discovered,” Sgt. Kevin Perlich said during a press conference. “At this time…a positive identification has not yet been made.”
READ MORE: Texas girl, 3, missing after dad allegedly punishes her by making her stand outside
Perlich went on to add the authorities have no reason to believe the body is not that of Mathews.
“The indications are that it is most likely her, however, we have not had a positive ID. So until we have a positive identification we are not going to say it is Sherin,” Perlich said.
Perlich said the child’s body was discovered in a culvert under a roadway, an area NBC News reported to be about just over a kilometre away from the family’s home.
The child’s father remains in jail on a $1 million bond.
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