Sherin Mathews: Indian Orphanage Caretaker Says She Sees ‘Pattern Of Sadness’ In Little Girl’s Photos [Video]
Just days ago, Sherin Mathews, 3, was laid to rest in a private ceremony, buried in a location that is being kept secret. A woman who took care of the child at an Indian orphanage prior to her adoption has spoken out to Dallas media, saying Sherin showed a “pattern of sadness” in a number of photos taken at different times during her young life.
Babita Kumari was Sherin’s caretaker at an orphanage in Nalanda, a city in the Indian state of Bihar. Sherin’s name while at the orphanage was Saraswati, according to WFAA.
The Dallas news outlet sent a team of journalists to the area Sherin once lived to gain further insight into the little girl’s life before she was adopted by the Mathews family.
Babita said Sherin never really knew a real mother or father and used to call her “mumma,” WFAA reports. She stated she was sad to see Sherin leave the orphanage with her new parents, but felt that sending her to the United States would offer the child greater opportunities than she’d have in India.
Photos of Sherin taken at various times were shown to Babita and she reacted by saying she could see continual sadness on the girl’s face, according to WFAA. She also stated she would like to speak with Sherin’s adoptive father and noted if she ever encountered the man she would likely slap him.
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“This could have been avoided… Saraswati [Sherin] should have been alive,” Babita told WFAA regarding Sherin’s death.
Sherin’s lifeless body was found by a cadaver dog on Sunday, October 22, in a culvert not far from the girl’s Richardson, Texas, home. Her adoptive father, Wesley Mathews, 37, was arrested the next day and charged with Injury to a Child, a first-degree felony for which he could face five to 99 years behind bars if convicted. He is being held on $1,000,000 bond.
An arrest affidavit for Mathews indicates he told police that on October 7, he and Sherin were in the garage of the family home where he was trying to get her to drink milk. He said Sherin eventually began to drink but he “physically assisted” with the task. He observed her choking, coughing, and said her “breathing slowed.” Mathews told police that “eventually” he couldn’t feel a pulse on Sherin and believed the little girl was dead. He also admitted moving her body from the family home.
A look at Sherin Mathews' life in India https://t.co/lckxQR1Ccx pic.twitter.com/RylsFfKAO5
— KVUE News (@KVUE) November 2, 2017
This account differs from the initial story Mathews gave police the morning Sherin disappeared. At that time, he told authorities that he had made Sherin stand outside by a tree at 3 a.m. as punishment for not drinking her milk. Mathews claimed that he went outside to check on her just 15 minutes later and she was gone. He was charged with child endangerment and subsequently bonded out of jail.
On Wednesday, October 25, Mathews was transferred from the Richardson Jail to a Dallas County jail on suicide watch, according to NBC DFW.
Sherin was adopted by Mathews and his wife in the summer of 2016 after she had been abandoned by her biological family, who reportedly placed her in some bushes as a baby, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The Mathews’ 4-year-old daughter was removed from the home by Child Protective Services (CPS) shortly after the investigation regarding Sherin commenced. Recently, the Mathews learned their biological daughter will remain in CPS custody, at least until a hearing slated to take place on November 13, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.
Anyone with information regarding the Sherin Mathews case can contact the Richardson Police Department at 972-744-4800.
[Featured Image by the Richardson Police Department]
