Montgomery County DA's Office offers $5K reward for father charged with neglecting son who died of starvation
The search for a father accused of neglecting his 21-year-old blind and deaf son with cerebral palsy who ultimately died of starvation is heightening. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced Friday they're now offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the 39-year-old father, Vernon Hatchett.
Hatchett, who also goes by Khaliyl Ward, from Glenside was charged with neglect of a care-dependent person after his son Tylim Hatchett, 21, was found dead inside a Montgomery County apartment in September 2024.
According to the DA's office, Vernon Hatchett told the Upper Dublin police officers who responded to the apartment that he found his son unresponsive on the floor at 6 p.m., almost two hours before he called 911 to report it.
Tylim Hatchett's cause of death was ruled a homicide after it was determined to be from complications of cerebral palsy and starvation, the district attorney's office said in a news conference in December.
The autopsy also revealed Tylim Hatchett weighed 59 pounds when he died, prosecutors say. An investigation into the homicide by Upper Dublin police and Montgomery County detectives uncovered that the 21-year-old had lost 31 pounds in seven months, according to investigators.
Tylim Hatchett's mother Sherrilynn Hawkins, Vernon Hatchett and caregiver Loretta Harris are all charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a December news conference. Hawkins faces the most serious charges of first-degree and third-degree murder; Vernon Hatchett is also charged with involuntary manslaughter and Harris faces a charge of theft by deception.
Steele alleged during the last 18 days of Tylim Hatchett's life, he was left alone for 356 out of 425 hours.
"There was no feeding. There was no water," Steele said in December. "He starved to death in this apartment and was lying on the floor when the police came. This is a horrible death."
According to the DA's office, Hawkins messaged Vernon Hatchett multiple times about their son's deteriorating health in September 2024. The father visited the apartment twice in early September but did nothing to provide food, medicine or necessary care for his son's survival. An arrest warrant for Vernon Hatchett was issued on Dec. 31, 2024.
On Jan. 3, the U.S. Marshals Service of Philadelphia announced they joined the search for Vernon Hatchett. Anyone with information related to his whereabouts is asked to call in a tip at 1-866-865-TIPS(8477). Vernon Hatchett is said to be 5-foot-10 and weighs around 190 pounds. If you spot him, you're asked to call 911.
