‘Why did you kill my little sister’?-Victim’s brother wants Mathis to serve her entire life in prison

Already looking at a minimum life sentence, former daycare operator Sherri Mathis will face her day of reckoning this afternoon when she is sentenced for the murder of 6-year-old Cheyenne Delp and the abuse of her older brothers.

‘The only question I have for Sherri is why did you kill my little sister’? questioned the victim’s now-teenage brother, David, in submitting his statement for his former caregiver’s pre-sentence report. ‘She deserves to serve the rest of her life in prison.’

Mathis, 41, faces sentencing at 1 p.m. today before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, all counts for which she was convicted last month following a jury trial. Her convictions include the first-degree murder of Cheyenne, as well as the physical abuse suffered by Cheyenne and her older brothers, David and Ryan, both of whom testified against Mathis.

During trial, prosecutors proved Mathis strangled Cheyenne to death in the family’s home in the summer of 2004. Mathis had legal custody of all three children because their parents were having legal trouble.

Prosecutors also proved Mathis heavily medicated Cheyenne with a cocktail of potentially dangerous mental drugs which the child likely did not need but was put on because of statements made by Mathis to the girl’s psychiatrist and doctor. Prosecutors also proved Mathis abused Cheyenne and her brothers with beatings and incidents of choking, with both brothers testifying about the abuse.

‘This defendant is a dangerous offender whose behavior indicates little or no regard for human life,’ prosecutors say in their sentencing recommendation, asking that Mathis receive the longest possible sentence.

Mathis, who has been held without bond since her conviction early last month, will face additional time on top of her automatic life sentence for murder.

The additional time, if it is added consecutively to her life sentence, will be 15 to 25 years for the aggravated child abuse convictions.

In Tennessee, life in prison means the person will become eligible after serving around 20 years. Mathis did not face life in prison without chance of parole, or the death penalty.

Prosecutors plan to rely on a series of enhancing factors in getting the judge to issue a longer sentence, including items such as the fact there was more than one victim, the age and mental capacity of Cheyenne which made her especially vulnerable, that the abuse posed a substantial risk to human life, and that she used her position as caregiver to commit the crimes.

The defense is expected to bring character witnesses in the hope of lessening the sentence as it maintains Mathis had no sustained intent to commit a crime and that she had been a hard worker prior to the crime. The defense may also raise a claim that Mathis has suffered with an inoperable brain tumor for several years, perhaps affecting her judgment.