BREAKING: Adoptive father accused of killing girl and claiming coyotes may have taken her guilty to lesser charge

Murder suspect Wesley Mathews, charged with capital murder and tampering with evidence, has apparently pleaded down to a lesser charge, according to Law & Crime.

Mathews, the adoptive father of slain 3-year-old Sherin Mathews, reportedly entered what’s known as a “slow plea,”meaning he has formally admitted to a crime, but doesn’t agree with prosecutors on the punishment. The jury will be allowed to choose Mathews’ punishment instead.

Mathews pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of injury to a child by omission, which could result in anything from probation to life behind bars. Prosecutors declined to push for the death penalty in the case.

#BREAKING: On Thursday #WesleyMathews pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of Injury to a Child by Omission. He was charged with murdering his adopted daughter #SherinMathews. The jury will decide his punishment. Opening statements Monday 1:30 p.m CT on https://t.co/ANz0Mt94wE pic.twitter.com/GExdU2xtJ8

— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) June 23, 2019

The trial is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. CST on Monday.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, a Dallas grand jury indicated 39-year-old Wesley Mathews on capital murder charges in January 2018, after an official autopsy report revealed his adopted daughter, Sherin, died from homicidal violence.

The case gained national attention after Mathews claimed he put the little girl outside at 3 a.m. as punishment for not drinking her milk on October 7, 2017. Mathews claimed he spotted coyotes in the alley close to the family home, yet, decided to wait five hours before calling for help.

“That does not seem like a normal response that one would do if you have a missing child,” Sgt. Kevin Perch said in 2017.

FILE – In this Oct. 28, 2017 file photo, a photograph of 3-year-old Sherin Mathews sits by a makeshift memorial in Richardson, Texas. Sherin’s father Wesley Mathews whose daughters body was found in a culvert near their suburban Dallas home little more than a year after she was adopted from an Indian orphanage was indicted Friday, Jan. 12, 2018, on a capital murder charge. He was also indicted in Dallas County Court on charges of abandoning a child and tampering with evidence. He is already charged with felony injury to a child. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez File)

He later changed his story and said he “forcefully” helped her drink her milk, which caused her to choke and die, according to police.

On October 22, 2017, authorities found Sherin’s lifeless body in a culvert close to East Spring Valley Road, near Richardson. She was wrapped in a garbage bag.

Check back with CrimeOnline for updates.