(Image source from: The Week)

An Indian origin man Wesley Mathews, who was sentenced to life imprisonment over the death of his adopted three-year-old child Sherin Mathews in Dallas, has requested a new trial.

The 39-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 26 over the death of his daughter, Sherin Mathews, in Richardson near Dallas in October 2017. Sherin was adopted from an orphanage in Bihar in 2016.

The attorneys for Wesley has moved a court motion last week, requesting a new trial, “arguing that evidence presented against him was prejudicial”, The Dallas Morning News reported.

According to The Dallas Morning News, the lawyers for Wesley Mathews argued that the prosecutors had shown the jury, which sentenced Wesley to life imprisonment, images of the decomposed body of Sherin. Brook A. Busbee, one of the lawyers for Wesley, claimed jurors “expressed visible emotion when shown the exhibits” of the body of Sherin. Busbee also argued the prosecution lacked evidence to prove Wesley was responsible for causing broken bones that Sherin had suffered when alive.

Wesley had reported Sherin missing on October 7, 2017. Wesley claimed he had left Sherin outside their house after midnight as punishment as she did not drink her milk. The decomposed body of Sherin was found in a culvert near their home on October 22 that year. After her body was found, Wesley changed his version of events to claim that Sherin had choked to death while drinking milk late at night.

Wesley had kept away from a full-fledged trial in June by pleading guilty to the lesser charge of causing a felony injury to a child. Ironically, Wesley had claimed during the trial that he would be “more than happy” to take a life sentence if the jury decided so.

Wesley became emotional during the trial and expressed deep regret for dumping her body in the culvert. Wesley as well claimed he had prayed over Sherin's body in the hope that she would be raised from the dead like Jesus Christ raised Lazarus in the Bible.

During the trial, the prosecution had highlighted the numerous inconsistencies in the versions given by Wesley and portrayed it as evidence of his lies.

By Sowmya Sangam