NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy announce the arrest of Harry Gramlich, 71, of Abington Township with Third-Degree Murder, Neglect of Care Dependent Person and Involuntary Manslaughter relating to the neglect and subsequent death of his brother, Timothy Gramlich, 52.
On Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 2:27 p.m., the Abington Township Police Department was dispatched to 250 Edge Hill Road in the Glenside section of Abington Township for a report of a deceased person. Officers were met by Harry Gramlich, who stated that his brother was deceased in a second floor bedroom.
Timothy Gramlich resided in the single-family residence of 250 Edge Hill Road with his brother, Harry Gramlich and sister. Harry Gramlich identified himself as the victim’s sole caretaker. Upstairs, police located the naked body of the deceased on a bare, soiled mattress.
Timothy Gramlich’s body was wrapped in an article of clothing. Both the mattress and bedroom floor appeared stained with bodily fluids and feces, and the odor of urine and feces was profound. The victim’s body was unclean and appeared emaciated. The defendant informed police that his brother had Down syndrome and was last seen alive on Saturday, October 17, 2020 at 8 p.m. when the defendant brought him food.
On the January 26, 2021, the autopsy report stated that the cause of death was urosepsis and the manner of death undetermined. The examination suggested Timothy Gramlich had been neglected and had he undergone routine, medical evaluations and care, his death from urosepsis could have been prevented.
Other indicators of neglect were the victim’s weight of seventy-six (76) pounds; fixed, flexion contractures of hips and knees with no pathological basis for them, clusters of tiny decubiti (pressure induced ulcerations) of his lower extremities and the poor, soiled conditions Harry Gramlich exposed him to. The unsanitary conditions and neglect of Timothy Gramlich, a care-dependent person, demonstrated Harry Gramlich’s willful and wanton disregard of an ongoing, unjustified risk that contributed to and resulted in Timothy Gramlich’s death.Harry Gramlich was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James P. Gallagher, who released him on $100,000 unsecured bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 28, 2021 at 2:15 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Juanita A. Price. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Nicholas Beeson and Gwendolyn Kull.