DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - Dallas County prosecutors have filed their intention to bring up old injuries to a 3-year old girl during the capital murder trial of her adoptive father.
A court document filed by Dallas County prosecutors says they intend to raise previous injuries inflicted on 3-year old Sherin Mathews by her father, Wesley Mathews. His trial is scheduled to begin in June.
The documents say the State wants to show, during both the case in chief and during that punishment hearing, that "On or about February 1, 2017 in Dallas County, Texas, Defendant acting alone or with Sini Mathews caused injury to Sherin Mathews resulting in fractures to the bilateral humerus, femur and tibia. Defendant and Sini Mathews did not disclose these injuries for at least one week. The history provided to doctors was not consistent with how the injuries occurred." said the document.
The notice also claims Wesley and Sini Mathews failed to show up at a follow up appointment on February 24, 2017 and that both "failed to provide adequate nutrition to Sherin Mathews.
The three-year old adopted daughter was reported missing in May of 2017. Her body was found in a culvert in Richardson about two weeks later.
Earlier this year, Dallas County prosecutors dropped all charges against Sini Mathews, saying they did not think they could prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Yet her name appears in the new allegations twice.
"They've included her as a participant in some of these extraneous offenses that they are going to bring up either during the case in chief or the punishment phase if it goes to that point." said Ed Klein, a legal analyst for KRLD News
The fact that the child suffered previous injuries had been disclosed in the early stages of the investigation. But Klein notes the changing stories that Wesley Mathews gave to police may be a bigger problem.
"On October 6 and 7, 2018 and throughout the course of the investigation into the disappearance of Sherin Mathews, (Wesley Mathews) provided false and misleading information to the Richardson Police Department." the document said.
"That one is a very serious one because that is in fact a criminal offense for lying to law enforcement about his child." said Klein.
At the time Sherin Mathews disappeared, Wesley Mathews told police the girl had gone outdoors at 3:00 in the morning and suggested that coyotes in the neighborhood could have carried her off.
Richardson police said Mathews later changed the story to say his daughter had choked on milk.