UPDATE: 

The father of three-year-old Sherin Mathews, who has been missing since Oct. 7, has now told police that he watched his daughter choke to death on milk and then removed her body from the home, according to an arrest affidavit.

On Tuesday morning, Richardson police released the arrest warrant for Wesley Mathews, which included details of his statement.

According to the affidavit, Mathews “had been trying to get the 3 year old girl to drink her milk in the garage and he 'said she wouldn’t listen to him.'”

Mathews then “physically assisted” the little girl, which resulted in her fatal choking.

“She was coughing and her breathing slowed. Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse on the child and believed she had died,” said the arrest affidavit.

Then, he told police, he removed her body from the home.

After police said they found a body they believed belonged to Sherin on Monday, Mathews “voluntarily arrived at the Richardson Police Station with his attorney and asked to speak with detectives,” Richardson police told the Washington Post.  

He was then arrested for a second time and charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony which could result in a life sentence. 

PREVIOUS:

During the search for a missing three-year-old girl in Richardson, Texas, police found the body of a small child which they believe may be the missing child. 

Sherin Mathews, who is adopted, went missing on Oct. 7, when she was told to stand outside as punishment for not drinking her milk, according to Dallas News.

Sherin, who has a developmental disability, was left in an alley by her father, Wesley Mathews, around 3 a.m. According to Wesley, 37, when he checked on her 15 minutes later, she was not there. However, he did not phone police until five hours later. 

Authorities searched for weeks and, on Thursday morning, they found the body of a small child, Sgt. Kevin Perlich, spokesman for the Richardson police department, said at a press conference. 

Although police have yet to identify the body, Perlich said "indications are that it is most likely" the body of Sherin Mathews.

Police have not arrested anyone in connection with the death of the child. However, Wesley was charged with child endangerment for being "unsafe" in his methods of discipline. 

The Mathewses adopted Sherin in June 2016 after she was abandoned in her native country of India, Dallas News reported.