A Dallas doctor told Child Protective Services in March that she thought Sherin Mathews was being abused after finding several bone fractures during an examination, according to the Dallas Morning News. Mathews went missing in Richardson after her adoptive father originally said he put her outside their home for not drinking her milk in October.
The 3-year-old was found dead days after she was reported missing, and her adoptive father and mother have been arrested in connection with her death.
The doctor testified during a three-hour hearing to determine whether her adoptive parents, Wesley and Sini Mathews, can reunite with their surviving child on Wednesday. The Dallas Morning News said the parents repeatedly invoked their fifth amendment right to not incriminate themselves while prosecutors questioned them about Sherin's injuries and the day she died.
The civil hearing will continue on Tuesday.
Wesley Mathews told police during a voluntary interview he "physically assisted" Sherin drink her milk when she wouldn't listen to him. "She was coughing and her breathing slowed," the warrant said. "Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse on the child and believed she had died."
Investigating detectives also determined that Sini Mathews left 3-year-old Sherin Mathews alone while she and Wesley Mathews went to dinner with their biological daughter.
Copyright 2017 KXXV. All rights reserved.
