Mother, father and caregiver charged after Pennsylvania 21-year-old with cerebral palsy dies of starvation

By Joe Brandt, Adam Fox, Tom Gardiner, Josh Sanders

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. 

Sherrilynn Hawkins, Vernon Hatchett and Loretta Harris are charged with neglecting 21-year-old Tylim Hatchett, who had cerebral palsy and required the care of others. Montgomery County District Attorney's Office

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."

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Mother, father and caregiver charged after Pennsylvania 21-year-old with cerebral palsy dies of starvation

Man left inside hot vehicle dies, caregiver charged with involuntary manslaughter

A janitor and caregiver is charged with involuntary manslaughter after deputies say the man he cared for was left inside a hot vehicle for much of the day. Roger Lee Inge Jr., 55, of Warrenton, N.C., is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 22-year-old Dontarious Batts, according to the Johnston County Sheriff's Office. According to investigators, Inge was employed by Universal Health Care as a caregiver for Batts, who has special needs and was unable to care for himself. 

Inge works as a janitor at Cleveland High School and told investigators he took Batts to work with him Tuesday morning. Inge said he left Batts inside his vehicle with the windows up and the engine off between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. 

Inge said he checked on Batts at 10 a.m., and he was fine. Inge returned to work, leaving Batts inside the vehicle until 4:17 p.m., investigators said. When Inge returned to the vehicle, he said Batts was dead. 

Inge said he left the school and called 911. The 911 operator asked Inge to pull over at a fire station on Cleveland Road in Clayton, and deputies responded to find Batts dead inside the vehicle. Inge was charged with involuntary manslaughter and is being held under a $35,000 bond.

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Man left inside hot vehicle dies, caregiver charged with involuntary manslaughter

Caregiver charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect

By Francis Scarcella

A Ranshaw woman employed as a home health caregiver is charged with involuntary manslaughter and neglect, according to Coal Township police.

Debora Avellino, 57, of Webster Street, was arrested and brought before Shamokin District Judge John Gembic on Tuesday on the charges of felony neglect of care of a person she was responsible to provide care for and misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter after police said Avellino caused the death of Vincent Avellino, 83, because she failed to provide care for him.

Coal Township police say they were contacted by the county Area Agency on Aging after an October incident that saw Vincent Avellino brought to the Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital by Debora Avellino for a report of a skin tag on Vincent Avellino's body that had developed in the course of three to four days.

An emergency room doctor told police the wound Vincent Avellino had could not have developed over the course of a few days and that it had to take several weeks to develop to the level of severity it did, police said. The doctor told officers if the wound had been treated immediately, it would have healed, police said.

An emergency room nurse who was working the night Vincent Avellino was brought in agreed with the doctor and told officers the wound was there for more than a few days, police said.

Police say Vincent Avellino needed emergency surgery and the doctor on-call referred the case to the county's aging office because it appeared to be severe neglect. Vincent Avellino died in early November.

Police say on Oct. 26 they spoke with a representative of the aging office who told officers Vincent Avellino was moved to Geisinger Medical Center, in Danville, because of complications after receiving the surgery.

Coal Township police arrested Debora Avellino on Tuesday, and Gembic sent her to Northumberland County Prison on $20,000 cash bail. 

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Caregiver charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect

Nursing home employees indicted for involuntary manslaughter after patient’s death from bedsores

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (Photo by Justin Merriman/Getty Images)

The Ohio attorney general has indicted seven former Columbus nursing facility workers on dozens of charges following a patient’s 2017 death from bedsores.

Dave Yost announced charges last week against six employees and a contracted nurse practitioner at the Whetstone Gardens and Care Center. All told, the seven individuals have been hit with 34 charges, including involuntary manslaughter, with some stemming from alleged neglectful care of a second patient.

“This case goes to the heart of protecting the unprotected,” Yost said in a statement. “[E]vidence shows these nurses forced the victims to endure awful mistreatment and then lied about it.”

The first patient developed serious wounds on his body in February 2017, which progressed to gangrenous and necrotic tissue. Despite his worsening condition, nurses allegedly failed to take steps to save his life, with the man dying a month later from septic shock. A jury last week indicted Sandra Blazer, Jessica Caldwell and Kimberly Potter of involuntary manslaughter and gross patient neglect.

In the second case, staffers allegedly documented treatments that were never provided to a different patient, who suffered “physical harm as a result of the inadequate care,” Yost said. Records for that patient contained false information and forged signatures, with some care occurring at times when the woman was not physically present at the facility.

Five employees, including Blazer, were indicted on charges of forgery and/or patient neglect.

In a statement to McKnight’s, spokesman Ryan Stubenrauch said that Whetstone “vehemently disagrees” with any suggestion that its employees caused the 2017 death of its patient who suffered bedsores. He was transferred to the hospital five days before passing away.

On the second case, Stubenrauch said those issues came to the facility’s attention two years ago during an annual survey and were immediately addressed.

“As always, the health, safety and well-being of our residents is our No. 1 priority and we will continue to ensure that all of our residents receive high-quality care,” he said.

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Nursing home employees indicted for involuntary manslaughter after patient’s death from bedsores

Ohio AG: Nursing home patient ‘rotted to death'

Current and former employees of an Ohio nursing facility are accused of mistreating two patients in their care, including one who died as a result of the nurses' actions, Attorney General Dave Yost said Thursday.

A Franklin County grand jury indicted seven people who worked as nurses in 2017 at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center in Columbus, Yost said in a news conference.

The defendants face 34 charges, including involuntary manslaughter and patient neglect, Yost's office said.

One patient "literally rotted to death" as a direct result of the nurses' neglect, Yost said, adding that another suffered physical harm because nurses falsified her medical records and forged signatures.

"This is gut-wrenching for anyone who has entrusted a care facility with the well-being and safety of a loved one," Yost said.

The accused include six current and former employees and a contracted certified nurse. According to online court records, they have not entered pleas and no attorneys were listed for them.

A spokesman for Whetstone said it has been cooperating with law enforcement since concerns arose two years ago.

Four employees were immediately fired for falsifying the second patient's records, spokesman Ryan Stubenrauch told CNN.

But Whetstone "strongly" disagrees with accusations that its employees were responsible for the other patient's death, Stubenrauch said.

Two employees accused of manslaughter were suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, he said. The contracted certified nurse is no longer at the facility, he said.

"It's truly a tragedy any time one of our residents dies," he said. "We're confident that this man's tragic death was not the result of neglect at our facility."

A timeline of the allegations

The first patient developed wounds on his body in February 2017 that progressed to gangrenous and necrotic tissue, Yost said. Nurses delayed bringing him to a hospital, where he died on March 5, 2017, from septic shock as a result of the wounds.

Three defendants were indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, gross patient neglect and patient neglect, Yost said. They are accused of failing to take medically appropriate steps that could have saved his life.

Whetstone disagrees that the treatment provided by employees caused his death, Stubenrauch said.

"There are a lot of circumstances around that gentleman and his untimely passing," Stubenrauch said. "We are confident that once those things come out it will be clear that the care he was provided at Whetstone did not contribute to his death."

The second patient suffered physical harm as a result of inadequate care because nurses falsified her medical records, Yost said.

The patient's medical records contained false information and forged signatures of nursing staff. An investigation found that the patient's medical file listed care at times when the patient was not physically present at the facility.

"As soon as it happened we did an immediate review and fired the people who broke our rules and our trust," Stubenrauch said.

Five nurses were indicted on charges including forgery and gross patient neglect. The patient later died, but no one faces charges related to the death.

"These victims were completely dependent on others for day-to-day care, which their families trusted Whetstone Gardens to provide. Instead of providing that care, evidence shows these nurses forced the victims to endure awful mistreatment and then lied about it," Yost said.

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Ohio AG: Nursing home patient ‘rotted to death'