Parents, caregiver accused of leaving son with cerebral palsy alone and starving him to death

UPPER DUBLIN, Pa. (TCN) — Two people were taken into custody and a third is wanted for allegedly neglecting to care for a 21-year-old man with cerebral palsy and starving him to death.

The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and Upper Dublin Police Department released a joint statement Dec. 31 announcing the arrests of Sherrilynn Hawkins and Loretta Harris, and asked the public to look for Vernon Hatchett, who also goes by the name Khaliyl Ward, in connection with the death of Tylim Hatchett.

According to the statement, on Sept. 18 at around 7:50 p.m., Upper Dublin Police Department officers received a call about an unresponsive male, and when they arrived, they found Tylim Hatchett “severely emaciated and lying on the floor.” He was declared deceased at the scene. Vernon Hatchett spoke with officers and allegedly told them he found his son at around 6 p.m. The autopsy showed Tylim Hatchett died from complications of cerebral palsy in the setting of neglect. The forensic pathologist ruled his death a homicide.

Investigators learned Tylim Hatchett went from weighing 91 pounds in February 2024 to 59 pounds in September. Hawkins and Harris reportedly both served as caretakers for Tylim Hatchett through Aveanna Healthcare and were compensated for it. They reportedly submitted time cards and sent in hours they worked even though they allegedly were not with him for some of those times. The statement says Harris and Hawkins allegedly sometimes left Tylim Hatchett alone for 24 hours at a time. Between Sept. 1 and Sept. 18, Tylim Hatchett was reportedly “left in the apartment by himself for 356 of the 425 hours, translating to 82% of the time within those 18 days.”

Tylim Hatchett reportedly had multiple medications he was supposed to take on a daily basis, but Harris allegedly regularly failed to give them to him. Hawkins reportedly messaged Vernon Hatchett “multiple times about their son’s deteriorating health,” but Hawkins “continued to leave him alone without providing him food or medicine.”

Harris, Hawkins, and Vernon Hatchett are all charged with neglect of a care-dependent person. Hawkins is additionally being charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, theft by deception, and abuse of a care-dependent person, while Harris is also facing theft by deception. Vernon Hatchett is being charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Court records show Hawkins was denied bail.

WCAU-TV reports District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a press conference, “He was nonverbal, he was blind, and wheelchair bound, which made him dependent on caregivers for feeding, bathing and mobility. The victim was not provided food and water and was left alone for long, long periods of time where he starved to death.”

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