Mother, father and caregiver charged after Pennsylvania 21-year-old with cerebral palsy dies of starvation
Three people, a mother, a father and a caretaker, are charged after a 21-year-old blind and deaf man with cerebral palsy starved to death in a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, apartment, District Attorney Kevin Steele and Upper Dublin Township Police Chief Francis Wheatley announced Tuesday.
The charges come after months of investigation into the September 2024 death of Tylim Hatchett, a wheelchair-bound resident of the Dresher section of Upper Dublin Township.
He was found dead on the floor of a unit in The Promenade apartments on Route 63, weighing just 59 pounds. A medical examiner ruled his cause of death to be complications of cerebral palsy and starvation — a homicide.
"He's blind, he's deaf, he can only be in a wheelchair," Steel said. "He needs medication that is not being provided for him."
Hatchett's mother Sherrilynn Hawkins, father Vernon Hatchett and caregiver Loretta Harris are all charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, Steele said in a news conference. Hawkins faces the most serious charges of first-degree and third-degree murder; Hatchett is also charged with involuntary manslaughter and Harris faces a charge of theft by deception.
Hawkins and Harris were both receiving benefit money to care for Tylim, who went without food and water for long periods of time, Steele said.
"There was no feeding. There was no water," Steele said. "He starved to death in this apartment and was lying on the floor when the police came. This is a horrible death."
The DA alleged during the last 18 days of Tylim Hatchett's life, he was left alone for 356 out of 425 hours — while Hawkins received over $2,000 and Harris $3,000 from a company called Aveanna Health Care.
Detectives tracked Hawkins' cell phone's location, her vehicle's appearance on license plate readers around the region, swipe access records into the Promenade building and other data to determine when Tylim was and was not attended to, an affidavit of probable cause shows.
Investigators "put a lot of hours and a lot of time into this to make these determinations to show where these individuals were, that they were not with Tylim, which [is where] they were getting paid to be," Steele said.
Steele said the adults neglected a duty to care for a person who needed it. The 21-year-old had lost over 30 pounds since he was weighed in February at Abington Hospital, where he was listed at 90 pounds.
"This is an individual who couldn't care for himself and was totally dependent upon care. He's a care-dependent person and they starved him to death. They just didn't provide for him during this period of time," Steele said.
The charges come after months of investigations into Tylim's death back in September after his parents called 911. Residents were shocked at the news.
"It's horrendous how parents, parents did that with the kid," said Aida Sokhieva, a resident. "I have no words. None of the kids deserve that, none of the humans deserve that."
"They're taking money that they're not doing the work for," he added. "These were intentional omissions that she was making through this period of time. She had a duty as a parent, she had a duty as a contracted employee, she was receiving benefits for this, and she let him die."
Hawkins and Harris are in custody. Hatchett has not been apprehended. Police are searching for him so he can face an arraignment regarding the charges.
On Friday, the U.S. Marshals Service of Philadelphia announced they will join the search for Hatchett. Anyone with information related to his whereabouts is asked to call in a tip at 1-866-865-TIPS(8477).
Hawkins is being held without bail.
A spokesperson for Aveanna Health Care released a statement later Tuesday: "Aveanna has well-established policies in place to ensure that authorized care is provided, with a robust compliance program that satisfies the prescribed oversight as defined by state regulators. We use technology and other means to validate the delivery of that care, and our supervisory measures meet the requirements defined by state regulators. The Company has and continues to cooperate with all investigations into this matter."
