A mother from Montgomery County was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the death of her 21-year-old son, who was living with cerebral palsy and died from neglect and starvation, officials said on Monday.
Sherilyn Hawkins was initially arrested in Jan. 2025 after her son, Tylim Hatchett, died from neglect and starvation, police said at the time.
According to police, Hatchett was found unresponsive around 7:50 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2024, after Upper Dublin police officials were called to an apartment complex in Dresher for a report of an unresponsive person.
In a statement released at the time, officers said they found Hatchett “severely emaciated and lying on the floor.”
Hatchett’s father, Vernon Hatchett, was at the scene at the time and told officers that he found his son at about 6 p.m. — about two hours before he called 9-1-1, police said.
Investigators later discovered that Tylim Hatchett weighed only 59 pounds at the time of his death, prosecutors said.
While Hawkins has now plead guilty to third-degree murder, neglect and other charges related to the case, Vernon Hatchett remains on the loose, officials said.
A $7,500 reward has been posted by Montgomery County officials for information that leads to Vernon Hatchett’s arrest. His image is below:
Tylim Hatchett’s caregiver, Loretta Harris, arrested and charged along with Hawkins. According to court documents, Harris has plead guilty to abuse of a care dependent person, as well as several other related charges, but has yet to be sentenced.