US cops confirm Indian toddler Sherin Mathews' death; father reveals he disposed of body

Police in the United States confirmed that that a recently recovered child's dead body was that of a three-year-old Indian-American girl Sherin Mathews, who had been missing since October 7.

The development came even as her foster father Wesley, who hails from Kerala, made a startling about-turn in his statement of how and when Sherin went missing. The father confessed that he was with Sherin when he died and said that he moved her body after he could not feel a pulse.

Sherin's body was recovered on October 22, but police in Richardson, Texas initially did not confirm whether corpse was that of the missing Indian girl, who was adopted Wesley and Sini Mathews from India last year.

In a Facebook post late Tuesday night (India time), Richardson Police Department confirmed that they had using dental records they had successfully identified the body as that of Sherin Mathews.

Wesley had first told police that Sherin went missing on October 7 after he made her stand outside their home in Richardson, Texas, as a form of punishment for not drinking milk. Now, however, Wesley has changed his statement, saying that he was with Sherin when she died.

According to a report on a local news website Star-Telegram, Wesley has now told police that on October 7, he was trying to get Sherin to drink milk in their home's garage.

"Wesley Mathews said she wouldn't listen to him. Eventually the 3 year old girl began to drink the milk," the report quotes a new police warrant issued to arrest Wesley.

Wesley Mathews then physically assisted the 3 year old in drinking the milk. The 3 year old girl began to choke.

"She was coughing and her breathing slowed. Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse on the child and believed she had died," the warrant continues. "Wesley Mathews then admitted to removing the body from the home."

Following the new disclosure, Richardson police re-arrested Wesley Mathews, who, according to Star-Telegram, was initially charged with abandoning or endangering a child.

Body ID'd as missing 3-year-old; dad admits to disposing of remains, affidavit says: https://t.co/LeMq52iRbjpic.twitter.com/kiAdhWd3yL

- ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) October 24, 2017

Now, Wesley has been charged on a charge of felony injury to a child, under which he faces "five to 99 years or life in prison," Star-Telegram said.

Sherin was adopted by Wesley and Sini Mathews in June last year from a Bihar-based NGO, the Times of India previously reported. According to the TOI, Sherin was then known as Saraswati and came under the now-defunct NGO's care in 2015, after she was abandoned by her family in Bihar's Gaya district.

Sherin or Saraswati was just a year and a half old when she was abandoned by her biological family.