(Image source from: Onmanorama - Malayala Manorama)

The Indian American father convicted in the death of his 3-year-old adoptive daughter Sherin Mathews has begun serving the jail term in Dallas. He was sentenced to life in prison on June 26.

The 39-year-old Wesley Mathews pleaded guilty on June 24 to a lesser charge of injury to a child in Sherin’s tragic death.

He was originally charged with capital murder after officers discovered Sherin’s highly decomposed body in a culvert after a massive search that lasted 15 days.

Mathews was transferred from Dallas County jail to state prison on Thursday at around 12:58 a.m.

A Dallas County jury heard the case, and Mathews was sentenced to life in prison in Sherin’s death on June 26. Mathews has since filed another appeal in the case asking for a new sentencing trial. His attorney alleges photos of Sherin’s body were “prejudicial”.

“Jurors expressed visible emotion when shown the exhibits,” defense attorney Brook Busbee wrote in the appeal.

The appeal also claims that evidence of prior injuries on Sherin’s body “prejudiced the jury”. The court filing said that those injuries cannot be linked to Mathews.

The father had reported Sherin missing after he put her outside October 7, 2017, because she wouldn’t drink her milk.

Prosecutors argued Mathews hid his crime, making it impossible to find out exactly what happened to the girl because of how badly decomposed her body was.

Mathews testified that his daughter choked on her milk and that he wrapped her body in a trash bag because he wanted “to do something nice” for her.

Sherin’s adoptive mother, Sini Mathews, was also criminally charged after the child’s body was found, but that case was later dismissed after the Dallas County District Attorney said there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

                        (Image source from: StarsInformer)

Hailing from Kerala, Mathews and his wife Sini Mathews, adopted Sherin from an orphanage in Bihar’s Nalanda district in 2016.

Sherin’s foster mother Sini was charged with child abandonment in November 2017. She told officials that the couple left the Sherin alone the night of her death while they left for a dinner party with their biological daughter.

Sini’s case was dismissed in March this year after prosecutors said they could not prove it beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sherin’s death attracted the attention of Indian government with then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj showing a keen interest in the case and also instructed the Indian mission in Houston to make certain that the Indian toddler received justice. Also, India revoked the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) immigration status of Wesley and Sini after Sherin’s death.

In the wake of the tragic death of Sherin, the government further tightened the adoption process.

By Sowmya Sangam