Man Starved Dad To Death, Philadelphia Prosecutors Allege

PHILADELPHIA -- A Philadelphia man has been charged in the starvation death of his 82-year-old father, whose body weighed 79 pounds.

Paramedics responding to a call about 57-year-old Thomas Hauck's mother found the body of his father, Leonard Hauck, in the basement of the family's north Philadelphia home on Dec. 26.

Authorities say Thomas Hauck told the paramedics his father had died several days earlier and he didn't know what to do with the body. They say his mother was malnourished.

Prosecutors say Hauck was arrested Thursday and is charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, abuse of a corpse and other crimes in connection with his father's death.

Hauck is in custody. It's unclear if he has an attorney. There's no telephone listing for him.

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Comments

[Heather Marrazzo]

09:41 AM on 03/18/2012

I'm very interested to hear what Thomas has to say.

[raegrant5]

07:27 PM on 03/17/2012

There should be stiffer laws for abuse of these poor old folks who can no longer speak for themselves. There is starting to be an overflow of crimes against senior citizens. How could someone starve their own father to death? Every time we see these crimes and crimes against children and we always ask the same questions, "How could they?" and my favorite, "Why would they do that!" The answer is always the same, "Because he wanted to." Throw the creeper in jail and lock the door, with hold his food for a while let him see how he likes it.

[ruby2sdy99]

02:12 PM on 03/17/2012

The big question I'd like to see answered by the Philly police is If this happened in December (when paramedics arrived and the dead father was found)...why is he just NOW being charged? One of the charges is abuse of a corpse. That was apparent on Dec. 26, so why the 2 month wait to charge him? Local news isn't giving much more detail now neither, other than what his neighbors have to say about it.

[jamisonmichalep]

05:48 AM on 03/17/2012

This is a HUGE problem with too many of these articles. There is never enough information nor clear and concise info for readers to reach much of an understanding. I agree with all the complaints about very "poorly" written articles. Six-yr old children could do better.
Most of the time, after reading something on this site, you're left with HUH? what? who? what the HELL is this article about? Can we get some facts, details, pertinent information? it's just a bunch of blah blah blah. Yeah, that's interesting!!!

[myste]

05:34 PM on 03/16/2012

Why 3rd Degree? Why not 1st degree, seems, it was planned. They better rethink those charges.His own parents, and over money and property. God Rest is Soul and speedy recovery and Blessings to the Mother, she will, have alot to go through now. :(

[Dee-k Armstrong]

05:18 PM on 03/16/2012

If HuffPost is going to put an article up why don't they take the time to access all the facts and information that the other news outlets have included in their articles?

[janicebpatterson]

04:50 PM on 03/16/2012

This a poorly written article. It doesn't make sense. What? Doesn't anyone care to report accurate news any more?

[Swimdude]

04:49 PM on 03/16/2012

I would need more information in order to make a informed judgement here. My Grandfather died in a Nursing home at the age of 86, he was 6 foot tall but had wasted away to about 80 pounds at the time of his death. Basically, he just stopped eating, unless you put him on IV's and feeding tubes there is no way to force him to eat. Again, I would need more information regarding this particular story to make an informed judgement.

[edsonvcn]

03:51 PM on 03/16/2012

This was hard to understand, the HP people writing this articles are terrible.! so both parents were malnourished.? still doesn't make clear why the son is being blamed. Not enough information.

[ruby2sdy99]

04:32 PM on 03/16/2012

If the son was his parents' only care-giver and both parents were malnourished to the point that Dad starved to death and Mom can't walk, I think it's clear why the son is being blamed. He was also in control of their finances. Not to mention how he disposed of Dad's corpse! If he can control finances, which would include paying utilities, property tax, etc, I think he has the mental competency to at least call 911 when Dad died. Apparently, the Philly police believe they have enough evidence to charge him.

[edsonvcn]

06:33 PM on 03/16/2012

Thank you.! I like your writing much better than the one who wrote the article.

[flknights]

03:23 PM on 03/16/2012

Yeah we do not know all the details is right....maybe this man kept the parents SS money or whatever they were getting every month and was buying drugs with the money and starving his parents? The guy looks like some druggie..but again....who knows..whatever it is it is SICK. I think there is more to this story.

[ruby2sdy99]

03:51 PM on 03/16/2012

Check the local ABC news (link is above). Philly police are stating they believe this "man" purposedly starved his parents, the Mom was removed to a rehab hospital "in terrible condition" (per police) and is trying to learn to walk again. They also state that the son was in charge of the parents' finances, and that he discouraged anyone from coming to the house. And who called 911 on the mom's behalf? I seriously doubt it was the son who didn't know what to do with dead dad, so tossed him in the basement.

[ascri38223]

02:56 PM on 03/16/2012

We don't know all the details, maybe the father was terminal ill? I'm sure more of the story will come out.

[ruby2sdy99]

03:37 PM on 03/16/2012

Check the other links above related to this article, esp. ABC, which gives more detail from Philly police. In addition, they interviewed a neighbor who said she wished she had done more. It wouldn't surprise me if the 911 call came from a neighbor, rather than the son who didn't know what to do with a corpse, so just tossed it in the basement. BTW, his mother is in rehab and learning to walk again, due to her severe neglect, so that kinda shoots down the "terminally ill father" theory.

[Gigi1217]

02:54 PM on 03/16/2012

Damn he looks like he's starving too

[cbrown4115]

02:47 PM on 03/16/2012

If it was just his dad that was malnourished... and if his body wasn't found in the basement... and if the guy didn't look like he does (kinda creepy)... I would think that could have been a case of "failure to thrive." This diagnosis is not uncommon in the elderly and in no way indicates that they have been abused or not fed. We all know that things are not always how they appear to be... in this case, I'm not so sure. Maybe the son is mentally ill or doesn't have the cognitive abilities to care for the elderly. I just find it so hard to believe that someone would intentionally starve anyone that I keep looking for another reason...

[estimatorone]

02:40 PM on 03/16/2012

I think that there is a lot more to this story then we think. Looking
at this guy's picture, he does not look too smart, or even well fed.
Maybe they have money problems in that they couldn't afford
enough food, mental issues or maybe the guy has drug issues.
In any event, very sad.

[unimatrix0]

03:07 PM on 03/16/2012

I agree. My first thought from the head line was, well, maybe he couldn't afford hospice, that is what they do for sick people, since we are too mean to let people die with dignity like we do animals. Not everyone over 65 has medicare. But I think your thought processes is more likely the case.

[liwarz]

02:39 PM on 03/16/2012

He looks like if you took Nicholas Cage and started making beef jerky from his face. :/