Sherin Mathews had broken bones, injuries in various stages

Sherin Mathews, a three-year-old Indian girl who was found dead in a culvert after being reported missing by her foster father, had a series of broken bones and injuries in various stages of healing, a doctor testified before the court. Sherin, reported missing on October 7, was found dead in a culvert about one km from her home in suburban Dallas on October 22. Her autopsy report is still awaited. She was adopted by the Indian-American couple, Wesley and Sini Mathews, from an orphanage in India last year. Her adoptive parents lost custody of their biological child after Sherin went missing.

Her parents appeared before a court on Thursday for a long Child Protective Services custody hearing about their biological daughter, currently living with relatives in the Houston-area. Wesley was brought to the courthouse in a van. He is expected to either surrender his parental rights for his three-year-old daughter or have them terminated by the state. Sini, who aims to regain custody of her biological daughter sought right to visit her.

Sini took to the witness stand first, but invoked her fifth amendment right not to incriminate herself many times during questioning. One exception came when she was asked if she is trained a nurse to which she responded, “yes”. The X-rays from February showed that fractures in Sherin’s tibia and femur were in different stages of healing.