The father of a Richardson girl who was reported missing Oct. 7 is facing a felony charge of injury to a child, police say.
Wesley Mathews was arrested Monday afternoon after he and his attorney arrived at the Richardson police station and asked to speak with detectives.
The two spoke with detectives for several hours, according to police.
"Mathews provided an alternate statement of events from those which he had given previously" regarding the disappearance of his adopted 3-year-old daughter, Sherin Mathews, police said.
In an arrest warrant released Tuesday, Mathews told police the girl died after choking on milk, and he "physically assisted" her.
According to the affidavit, Mathews said he later removed the girl's body from the home.
Wesley Mathews was booked into the Richardson City Jail on a $1 million bond.
First-degree felony injury to a child is punishable by up to life imprisonment.
Earlier in the day he and his wife, Sini Mathews, attended a court hearing to determine whether they could regain custody of their 4-year-old biological daughter who was placed in protective custody after Sherin went missing.
The judge postponed the hearing until Nov. 13 to give Wesley Mathews time to hire a civil attorney, said Marissa Gonzales, a spokeswoman for Child Protective Services. The girl will remain in foster care at least until that hearing or until a judge orders a change in custody.
The medical examiner has not identified a body of a young child found Sunday about a half-mile from the family's home in Richardson.
Previously, the father had told police he ordered Sherin to stand outside the family home at about 3 a.m. on Oct. 7 as punishment for not drinking her milk. He was arrested later that same day on a misdemeanor child endangerment charge and was released after posting bond.
Police said they believe Sini Mathews was sleeping when the girl went missing and was unaware of the alleged punishment.
Richardson Police Sgt. Kevin Perlich would not provide details about what part of Mathews' story had changed, only saying, "what he did tell us was contrary to what we have been previously told back on October 7th when Sherin first came up missing."
Perlich said there were some contradictions given in the most recent account, but could not go into detail.
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On Monday evening, people gathered near the culvert where police and a search team found the body of a small child on Sunday morning.
Many people expressed shock at the father's second arrest.
"Justice should be done for this little child," said Anthony Sabu. "This little child has gone through the worst things in her life. She was abandoned when she was born and this family adopted her, and this is not what we expected."
Richardson police said late Monday evening that they expect to be able to reveal the identity of the child on Tuesday.
