Parents accused of starving 21-year-old son with cerebral palsy to death

The Pennsylvania parents of a 21-year-old blind and deaf man with cerebral palsy who died in September after being starved for months have been charged in connection to his death, authorities announced Tuesday.

Tylim Hatchett was found dead on the floor of his apartment weighing a mere 59 pounds and a medical examiner determined that his complications with cerebral palsy were partially to blame, but that he had also apparently been starved, according to the Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Office.

Tylim’s mother, Sherrilynn Hawkins, father Vernon Hatchett and caregiver Loretta Harris are all charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, according to a news release from District Attorney Kevin Steele’s office.

Hawkins faces first-degree and third-degree murder. Hatchett is also charged with involuntary manslaughter while Harris faces a charge of theft by deception.

Hawkins and Harris were both receiving benefit money to care for Tylim, who they had frequently left alone for extended periods of time, Steele wrote. 

Tylim could not care for himself because of his complications with cerebral palsy, which included immobility, blindness, and deafness. He fully relied on his parents and caretaker, but Steele alleged that in the last 18 days of his life, he was left alone for 356 out of 425 hours.

All the while, his mother pocketed $2,000 from a company called Aveanna Health Care. Harris also cashed $3,000 from the company.

Detectives on the case “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 at a press conference.

These efforts included tracking Hawkins’ cell phone location, her vehicle’s appearance on license plate readers in the area, swipe access records into the Promenade building where Tylim lived, and other data.

Steele said that the three had each neglected their responsibility to care for Tylim, who wholly relied on them. The neglect spanned months, if not years.

Tylim 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. 

“They’re taking money that they’re not doing the work for. These were intentional omissions that she was making through this period of time. [Hawkins] had a duty as a parent, [Harris] had a duty as a contracted employee, she was receiving benefits for this, and she let him die.”

Hawkins and Harris are in custody, but Hatchett has not been apprehended. Police are still working to track him down so he can face arraignment on his hefty charges.