Chester County Judge Tosses Son's Murder Charge in Death of Elderly Father
By Jim Melwert
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) -- Several charges, including murder, have been dismissed against a West Chester man accused of neglect in the death of his father.
A judge in Chester County today dismissed charges of third-degree murder, theft, and receiving stolen property against Edward O'Brien III.
Charges of manslaughter and recklessly endangering another person were held for court.
Prosecutors had alleged that O'Brien had taken his 90-year-old father out of acute care and deprived him of his medicine for two years before his death. They also accused him of stealing more than $30,000 from his father's accounts.
But district judge John Bailey ruled that the prosecution failed to meet the burden of proof and dismissed some of the most serious charges.