‘Sherin's Law' Would Make Leaving a Child Home Alone Illegal

On the heels of a high-profile child murder case, a group of people is working to pass new legislation that could affect every parent.

Friday, a judge revoked the parental rights of Wesley and Sini Mathews to their biological child permanently.

Their adopted 3-year-old daughter, Sherin, was found dead back in October, weeks after she was reported missing.

Wesley Mathews is charged with capital murder, while Sini Mathews is charged with child endangerment.

Shanna Poteet and Reena Bana have been following the case since the beginning.

With the help of attorney Bilal Khaleeq they're drafting a new law in Sherin's name.

The law is based on what happened the night before Sherin reportedly disappeared.

Wesley Mathews told investigators he and Sini went to dinner without 3-year-old Sherin.

Khaleeq says leaving a child of any age home alone is not illegal in Texas.

"In all my research that law is just missing in Texas," Khaleeq said, adding the are similar laws in place in other states.

Right now, he says it's left to parents to decide what age their child can be left home alone.

Sherin's Law would make it a crime if a child under the age of five is left home alone.

"There's no law against that, and we both said, 'What, are you kidding me?' Like, there's no law against leaving a child alone at home by themselves," Poteet said.

So far they've met with one state representative and will soon meet with more.

Sherin's Law would also require parents to call police within an hour of the time they realize their child is missing.

Wesley reportedly told police he did laundry before calling police, four hours after he initially reported Sherin missing.