Wesley and Sini Mathews, the adoptive parents of deceased 3-year-old Sherin Mathews, have lost all rights to see their biological 4-year-old daughter, for now.
The court has found aggravated circumstances and has denied the Mathews parents of seeing their biological child until a formal civil trial has taken place.
CPS does not have to provide any family reunification services at this time.
Their biological child is with relatives in the Houston area.
The couple was back in court Tuesday to resume a CPS custody hearing for their biological child from last week.
The Mathews were expected to either surrender their parental rights for their 4-year-old daughter or have them terminated by the State during the initial hearing.
Both Wesley and Sini took the stand during the Nov. 30 hearing as a witness, but invoked their 5th Amendment rights on most questions asked by the State.
The State asked several questions about the night Sherin disappeared, as well as questions about alleged broken bones the 3-year-old suffered last spring. Sini was asked by the State if Sherin had a broken femur, elbow, and tibia between January and March of this year. She was also asked by the State if Sherin suffered another set of fractures in February or March, and whether Sini told doctors that Sherin had a Vitamin D deficiency, leading to her broken bones.
The court heard from three witnesses with the first returning back to the stand Tuesday.
Dr. Dakil, a pediatrician who had seen Sherin for weight management among other issues returned to the stand for cross examination Tuesday morning. She said she examined the Mathews' oldest daughter in addition to Sherin and there were no signs of abuse.
The second witness to take the stand was CPS investigator Kelly Mitchell. Mitchell was the investigator who removed the Mathews' biological child from the home Oct. 9 around 1 a.m.
Mitchell was asked to comment on the emotional state of Sini during the removal of her 4-year-old biological daughter. She said Sini was "eerily calm" and when Wesley returned from jail she didn't seem angry towards him.
Mitchell said Sini did not mention Sherin's name at all during the removal process.
During Mitchell's visit to the Mathews home she said she noticed many photos of biological child but didn't see any of Sherin.
According to Mitchell, the 4-year-old biological child did not cry when she was removed from the Mathews home and cooperated.
The next witness to take the stand was Detective Jules Farmer with Richardson police. Farmer is the lead detective on the Mathews case.
Det. Farmer said Richardson police interviewed both Wesley and Sini Mathews but got the feeling they weren't telling the truth because their stories were not consistent with one another.
He said Sini told police she woke up at 5 a.m. and saw Wesley with a "weird look" on his face," they went to the breakfast table and cried and prayed for three hours instead of calling police when they discovered Sherin was missing.
Det. Farmer said the Mathews all slept in one bedroom. Sini, Wesley and their biological child all shared one bed, Sherin slept in a crib in the same room.
According to Wesley, Det. Farmer said Wesley woke up in the middle of the night, asked Sherin if she was awake and when she said yes, he asked if she wanted to finish her milk, to which she again said yes. That is when Wesley and Sherin left the family bedroom and headed to the kitchen.
Det. Farmer told the court when Wesley learned that they were aware he had turned of his geo-locating function on his cell phone he had a "look of shock."
Wesley admitted to RPD that he endangered Sherin and abandoning her.
"He was almost quoting the penal code," Det. Farmer said.
Clothes were found from the trash inside the Mathews home which are believed to be Sherin's. Those are being tested at this time.
Det. Farmer said the Mathews said they practice "time out" as a disciplinary measure but cannot recall if they told him they spank their children.
RPD asked Sini if Wesley did something to Sherin the night she went missing. According to Det. Farmer her response was vague and she said she "wasn't sure."
When Wesley recounted the refusal to drink milk and as a result punishing Sherin by the tree outside their home, Det. Farmer said, "we challenged him, we didn't really believe that had happened."
When interviewed about the milk incident, Det. Farmer said Wesley went from being concerned to frustrated.
Det. Farmer also said both Sini and Wesley admitted knowledge of previous injuries to Sherin. Wesley told RPD he learned of possible medical issues related to Sherin only when he went to India to complete the adoption process.
Wesley did admit to RPD that he put Sherin in a culvert on Oct. 7 after taking out the trash nearby.
Det. Farmer said Wesley indicated he intended to return to that culvert and give her a burial.
Court recessed for lunch and resumed at 1 p.m.
An autopsy was done for Sherin but Det. Farmer has not seen the result and does not know when they will be available.
The Mathews' biological child was interviewed twice and taken in for a forensic interview. She talked about eating at Chick Fil A but did not talk about dinner during the night in question.
Autopsy results are pending along with forensic testing and possible further DNA testing. Bedding, clothing and a high chair are all being tested right now according to RPD.
When RPD asked why they left Sherin at home alone and went to dinner, Wesley said "we needed a break" during an interview on Oct. 24.