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Texas man pleads guilty to lesser charge in daughter's death

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DALLAS, TX — A Texas man who was accused of killing his adopted daughter, 3-year-old Sherin Mathews, has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge the day his trial for capital murder was scheduled to begin.

The Dallas Morning News reports Monday that Wesley Mathews, 39, pleaded guilty to injury to a child by omission, which gives Mathews the chance for a lighter sentence than if he'd been found guilty of capital murder.

Mathews reported to police in October 2017 that his daughter was missing. The body of Sherin Mathews was found about two weeks later in a culvert near their Richardson home.

Mathews was indicted in January in Sherin's death. In March, prosecutors dropped a child-abandonment charge against Sherin's mother, Sini Mathews.

Mathews' sentencing began Monday after the guilty plea.