An Abington man is headed to jail for a maximum of one year on a misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge in connection with the death of his 52-year-old younger brother who had Down syndrome and was left to "waste away,” dying from a treatable urinary tract infection, prosecutors said.
Harry A. Gramlich, 74, of the 200 block of Edge Hill Road, was sentenced last week in Montgomery County court to six to 12 months in county jail, according to The Mercury, in connection with the Oct. 18, 2020 death of Timothy Gramlich in his home.
Gramlich was sentenced by Judge Virgil B. Walker, who convicted Gramlich in a non-jury trial in March, according to reports. Upon release from jail, Gramlich will be under court supervision for five years. Per reports, Walker acquitted Gramlich of a charge of felony neglect of care of a dependent person, as his actions were not intentional or willful.
Walker described the victim’s skeletal appearance as resembling someone from "a concentration camp.”
Assistant District Attorney Gwendolyn Kull pushed for at least a year in state prison for Gramlich.
"Defendant chose to not seek assistance in caring for Timothy – not from his siblings or outside agencies, not for cleaning his room, not for maintaining good hygiene, not for medical care. His utter failure to do so resulted in Timothy’s death and Timothy’s tragic and preventable loss of life demands the accountability total confinement provides,” Kull said in the report.
According to reports, detectives found Timothy’s naked body wrapped in clothing on a bare mattress soiled with feces and urine. He weighed 75 pounds and suffered from bed sores, police said.
A second Gramlich brother, Joseph T. Gramlich, 66, of the 500 block of East Main Street in Lansdale, was also sentenced last week to 10 years’ probation and a $1,000 fine after pleading guilty to felony neglect of care of a dependent person.
A third sibling — 60-year-old Elizabeth Gramlich —was considered the least culpable person, but pleaded guilty to felony neglect in January and received 10 years’ probation.
Elizabeth admitted to taking $3,600 intended for Timothy’s medicine, groceries, hygiene, and shelter, and using it for herself, despite living in the same house with her brother.
Read more on the case here and read more on Gramlich’s conviction here.
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