Philly Man Charged In Starvation Death Of Father
By Elizabeth Hur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A Northeast Philadelphia man is in jail, accused of doing the unthinkable to his father.
Police say he starved the old man to death.
The Philadelphia district attorney's office has charged 57-year-old Thomas Hauck with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, felony theft, and abuse of a corpse, related to the 2011 death of his father.
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Leonard Hauck, 82, was found dead in his Kirkwood Road home last December 26th, by paramedics. They were originally called to the house to administer care to Thomas Hauck's mother, but subsequently found Leonard Hauck's body in the basement of the home.
At that time, Thomas Hauck informed them that his father had died several days before and he didn't know what to do with the body.
Investigators say the elder Hauck was severely malnourished. And at the time of his death, Leonard Hauck was 5' 7" tall but weighed only 79 pounds.
Some neighbors told Eyewitness News they were suspicious of Hauck's behavior.
"What I understand, what people tell me now, is that he was hoping to inherit the house, get all the money, instead of spending the money on a nursing home or anything like that and live off that," Gordon Spotts said.
It was also discovered that Thomas Hauck's mother was also malnourished. Thomas Hauck is facing reckless endangerment charges for the treatment of his mother.
Thomas Hauck was arrested Thursday morning.
