A 43-year-old mother from Pennsylvania has been sentenced to several decades in prison after confessing her involvement in the tragic death of her 21-year-old son with special needs. The young man, who was found severely malnourished and weighing only 59 pounds, died last year in the family’s residence.

Sherrilynn Hawkins entered a guilty plea on Monday to charges including third-degree murder, neglect of a dependent, theft by deception, and conspiracy to commit theft by deception related to the death of Tylim Hatchett. The announcement was made by authorities, and Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Wendy G. Rothstein sentenced Hawkins to serve between 25 and 50 years in a state prison.

The Montgomery County District Attorney, Kevin R. Steele, released a statement indicating that the search continues for Tylim’s father, 40-year-old Vernon Hatchett. He faces several felony charges connected to his son’s death, including neglect leading to death, abuse of a dependent, and conspiracy to commit involuntary manslaughter. Authorities are offering a $7,500 reward for any information that could lead to his arrest, urging anyone who sees Hatchett to contact 911 immediately.

Prosecutors revealed that Tylim Hatchett died due to severe neglect caused by his parents and another woman, Loretta Harris, who was a friend of Hawkins. Both women received payments from a home health care agency to provide care for Tylim but frequently left him unattended for extensive periods, sometimes as long as 24 hours.

During the court proceedings on Monday, Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Ed McCann highlighted Hawkins’ apparent lack of remorse. He noted that she downplayed her culpability by claiming she had been an excellent caregiver until she became overwhelmed near the end of her son’s life.

“I had hoped that she would come in and make a true expression of remorse for killing this child, for murdering this child, and perhaps give some explanation as to why she did what she did, but we clearly didn’t hear any of that today,” he said, according to a report from Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI.

Harris, who previously pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent person, will be sentenced in December.

As Law&Crime previously reported, police at about 7:50 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2024, responded to an apartment complex in Dresher, Pennsylvania, regarding a report of an unresponsive person. Upon arriving at the address, first responders said they found Tylim Hatchett “severely emaciated and lying on the floor.”

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Vernon Hatchett was at the apartment and allegedly told officers that he’d found his son about two hours before he got around to calling 911.

A subsequent autopsy performed by a forensic pathologist at the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office determined that the cause of death was complications due to cerebral palsy in the setting of neglect. The manner of death was determined to be a homicide.

According to a previous press release, police, with the assistance of the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, conducted an investigation and found that in February 2024, Tylim Hatchett weighed 91 pounds, meaning he had lost 31 pounds — more than one-third of his total body weight — over the course of just seven months.

Investigators also found evidence showing that Hawkins and Harris were both submitting hours and receiving money from Aveanna Healthcare to be compensated for their time, even though the women were not actually caring for the victim.

“A review of cell phone records found that Hawkins and Harris would ‘clock in’ as a caretaker for Tylim Hatchett at times they were not actively with him, leaving him alone for upwards of 24 hours at a time,” the release states. “Between Sept. 1, 2024, and Sept. 18, 2024, Tylim Hatchett was left in the apartment by himself for 356 of the 425 hours, translating to 82% of the time within those 18 days.”

According to authorities, Tylim Hatchett’s medical records also listed several medications he was supposed to take every day. Those medications needed to be prepared and provided by a caregiver as the victim was “unable to self-medicate.” However, investigators said that Harris had not given Tylim Hatchett any medications at all when she visited.

The victim’s parents also appeared to be well aware of the danger their son was in.

“Throughout September, Hawkins messaged Vernon Hatchett multiple times about their son’s deteriorating health yet continued to leave him alone without providing him food or medicine,” the release states.