Mother of Texas Toddler Sherin Mathews Charged With Child Abandonment

The mother of Sherin Mathews, the Dallas 3-year-old whose body was found on Oct. 22 after being missing since Oct. 7, has been charged with child abandonment after police allege that she left the child home alone.

Sini Mathews turned herself in on Thursday, the Associated Press reports. Her bond was set at $250,000.

Police say Sherin, who was adopted from India, was left home alone for 1 and-a-half hours the night of Oct. 6 while her family went to dinner and was still there when they returned. Police say the family didn’t take her with them when she refused to drink her milk.

Sherin’s adoptive father, Wesley Mathews, remains jailed on a felony injury to a child charge. Police say he has previously said that Sherin died as she choked on milk he was trying to make her drink in the early hours of Oct. 7.

The cause of death is still pending, although the body was confirmed to be Sherin’s via dental records. According to a warrant released by police in Richardson, Texas, Wesley admitted to removing Sherin’s body from the home. He is currently charged with Injury to a Child, a first-degree felony, and his bond is set at $1 million, police said.

Wesley and Sini Mathews also have a 4-year-old daughter, who has been placed in foster care, a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services spokesman told The Republic.