The parents and caregiver of a 21-year-old Pennsylvania man with cerebral palsy have been charged with multiple counts after he was found dead earlier this year in a “severely emaciated” state.
Sherrilynn Hawkins, Tylim Hatchett’s 42-year-old mother, is charged with first and third degree murder and theft by taking, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said. Hatchett’s father, 39-year-old Vernon Hatchett, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, and the caregiver, 45-year-old Loretta Harris, is charged with theft by taking. All three are charged with neglect of a care-dependent person.
According to Dublin Township Police, they got an 911 call from the father just before 8 p.m. on September 18 and found Tylim Hatchett dead at the scene. Vernon Hatchett told police he’d found his son unresponsive nearly two hours before calling police.
An autopsy determined the young man died from complications of cerebral palsy in the setting of neglect. He weighed just 59 pounds at the time of his death, and investigators learned that he had dropped 31 pounds between February and September.
The investigation discovered that Hawkins and Harris submitted hours to Avenna Healthcare and were paid for time they were not in fact caring or Hatchett. A review revealed that Tylim Hatchett had been left completely alone in his apartment for 356 of 425 hours between September 1 and September 18, when he died.
Medical records showed multiple medications that he was supposed to take daily. Those medications had to be prepared and given by a caregiver since he was unable to do so himself. Harris, on the occasions she did visit him, ever gave him the medication.
The investigation further uncovered several messages from Hawkins to Vernon Hatchett about the condition of their son, yet she “continued to leave him alone without providing him food or medicine.”
Hawkins and Harris were arrested and arraigned on Tuesday and have preliminary hearings set for January 10. A warrant has been issued for Vernon Hatchett’s arrest.
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[Featured image: Vernon Hatchett, Sherilynn Hawkins, and Loretta Harris/Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office]