Wesley Mathews is guilty of not calling 911 the night his adopted 3-year-old daughter died, his defense attorney said Monday.
A capital murder trial for the Richardson father was scheduled to begin Monday, but Mathews instead pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of injury to a child by omission in the death of his daughter, Sherin.
A jury of four women and eight men will decided Mathews' fate. He faces up to life in prison.
Mathews, 39, is expected to testify during the sentencing trial, along with friends, relatives and members of his religious community, defense attorney Rafael De La Garza told jurors.
"Then you all determine what is fair, what is just for this offense," he said.
Prosecutor Jason Fine warned jurors that the trial will be "horrific" and will reveal the many lies Mathews told authorities while they searched for his daughter.
"There are things you're going to hear, photos you're going to see that will not go away," the prosecutor said. "That's the reality of what happened to Sherin, and it's because of him."
Mathews reported Sherin missing after he put her outside Oct. 7, 2017, because she wouldn't drink her milk.
Sherin's body was found 15 days later in a culvert near her family's Richardson home.
Her body was so badly decomposed that there weren't any organs left for a medical examiner to test.
Fine said Mathews could've told police sooner where his daughter was.
“We will never be able to know exactly how Sherin died. We will never know how Sherin died because of the defendant," Fine said.
RELATED: From A to Z: The Sherin Mathews case
Body camera footage shows Mathews leading officers around the alleyway behind his home. He points to a thicket of trees in a grassy area. He says that's where he left Sherin around 3 a.m. because she wouldn't drink her milk.
The child was underweight and had food aversions.
Mathews told police he couldn't sleep and got up to make Sherin drink milk.
He said she was "misbehaving." He put her in the garage to drink her milk and later left her outside, he told police.
De La Garza told jurors that Mathews regrets not waking up his wife, Sini Mathews, when problems arose with Sherin that night.
“He has accepted responsibility for what he has done and for what he is guilty for," the defense attorney said.
A criminal child endangerment case against Sherin’s mother, Sini Mathews, was dismissed in March after the Dallas County District Attorney said there was not enough evidence to prosecute.
The couple gave up parental rights to their biological child in January 2018, after their adopted daughter, Sherin, went missing. The girl was removed from the family's home Oct. 9, 2017.
After the criminal case was dismissed, Sini Mathews said she was looking forward to being reunited with her biological daughter.
The couple adopted Sherin in the summer of 2016. Prior to her adoption, Sherin was abandoned by her biological parents in Gaya, India, and taken to a local orphanage in Nalanda.
De La Garza said Wesley Mathews will testify during the trial about how his family wasn't complete until he and his wife adopted Sherin.
Court records show the girl suffered multiple bone fractures, many of which were untreated.
Jurors will remain sequestered during the sentencing trial.
Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday morning.
The Sherin Mathews case:
- Case against Sherin Mathews' mother dismissed due to lack of evidence, DA announces
- Judge denies Sini Mathews' request to have bond lowered
- Where are they now? The Sherin Mathews case, one year later
- CPS report details prior alleged abuse investigation in Sherin Mathews case
- Sherin Mathews' gravesite released: 'Moment in our arms, lifetime in our hearts'
- India suspends Holt International for 'negligence' in Sherin Mathews adoption
- Wesley Mathews indicted for capital murder