Young man in Montco left for dead by parents in case of ‘depravity’, district attorney says
Two suspects were arrested in the death of 21-year-old Tylim Hatchett, while police are searching for a third.
Hungry, thirsty, and left for dead.
That’s the condition in which Montgomery County prosecutors allege the parents of Tylim Hatchett — a care-dependent person who was blind and deaf and had cerebral palsy — left their son in the weeks before his September death in an upscale apartment.
For the second time in a month, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele appeared distraught at a news conference Tuesday as he outlined the details behind a homicide where an act of “depravity” allegedly led to another untimely death of a young person.
The county’s top prosecutor painted a vivid portrait of a monthslong period of declining health for 21-year-old Tylim Hatchett at the hands of his parents, Sherrilynn Hawkins and Vernon Hatchett, as well as the young man’s hired caregiver, Loretta Harris.
Those three adults were responsible for virtually all of Tylim Hatchett’s needs, Steele said. In addition to his sensory disabilities, the young man used a wheelchair and was nonverbal.
After Upper Dublin police discovered Tylim Hatchett starved and “dead on the floor” in a Dresher apartment unit on Sept. 18, the full scope of the neglect came into view, according to Steele.
An autopsy would find that he went from 90 to 56 pounds in the six months before his death, which was ruled a homicide “due to complications of cerebral palsy in the setting of neglect,” Steele said.
Detectives determined that during the last several weeks of his life, the young man was left alone in the apartment unit, save a handful of visits from those responsible for him.
Meanwhile, prosecutors alleged not only that those individuals — 42-year-old Hawkins, 39-year-old Vernon Hatchett, and 45-year-old Harris — were complicit in the neglect, according to Steele, but also that Hawkins and Harris had collected thousands of dollars per month for home-care assistance that they ultimately failed to provide.
Police arrested Hawkins on Monday and charged her with first- and third-degree murder, neglect of a care-dependent person, and theft by deception.
Harris turned herself in Tuesday and was charged with neglect of a care-dependent person and theft by deception.
Vernon Hatchett is wanted for arrest and faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter in addition to the neglect and theft charges.
A joint investigation by Montgomery County detectives and Upper Dublin police helped Steele’s office piece together the final days of Tylim Hatchett’s life.
Investigators found that the young man’s parents had rented the luxury unit at the Residences at the Promenade and kept their son there, though from Sept. 1 to Sept. 18, they were absent more than 80% of the time, Steele said.
In all, Harris, the home-care aide, was at the property once during that period, while Vernon Hatchett visited three times, according to Steele.
Hawkins, according to Steele, used some of the funds she received from Athena Health Care — the medical group compensating her and Harris for her son’s care — to pay for the apartment.
But for the most part, the district attorney said, the two women collected the money while denying Tylim Hatchett the critical services he required.
During the young man’s final month, Steele said, Hawkins received around $2,000, while Harris received $3,000. It was not immediately clear to investigators what sort of oversight Athena had, he added.
“She had a duty as a contracted employee, she was receiving benefits for this, and she let him die,” Steele said of the man’s mother.
And Steele suggested that the homicide charge was justified because Hawkins “knew this was going on.”
“On that day, she didn’t want to go into the house because she knew what she was gonna find,” Steele said.
Vernon Hatchett was at the apartment when police arrived and told officers he had discovered his son almost two hours prior to 911 being called, according to an affidavit.
Hawkins is being held in Montgomery County without bail. Harris was scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday afternoon.
Police are still seeking Vernon Hatchett. Steele urged anyone who sees him to contact law enforcement.
“He’s wanted,” Steele said, “and he knows he’s wanted.”