Sini Mathews, the mother of a 3-year-old Richardson girl found dead in a culvert in October 2017, will remain in jail after being denied a request for a bond reduction Thursday morning, her attorneys say.
Mathews' legal team had requested the $100,000 bond amount to be lowered to $2,500, the amount typically recommended for someone without a criminal record who's charged with child abandonment.
The hearing was originally set for last week, but Mathews’ attorneys requested more time to get witnesses to speak on behalf of their client.
Mathews’ legal team noted that many potential witnesses they have spoken with are reluctant to come forward out of fear over retaliation in the Indian community.
Mathews is accused of leaving her toddler daughter Sherin Mathews home alone while she, her husband Wesley and their 4-year-old daughter went to dinner the night before Sherin was reported missing. Two weeks later the child’s body was found in a drain pipe near the Mathews family home. [[453078833,C]]
Mathews' defense team is also asking that her trial and that of her husband, Wesley Mathews, be kept separate.
Wesley Mathews faces a capital murder charge in connection with his daughter's death. His trial is set for May.
Sini Mathews’ trial was set to begin last Monday, but was postponed after new prosecutors in the Dallas County District Attorney's Office were assigned to the case. A new trial date has not yet been set.
