Homicide detectives are investigating the starvation death of an autistic 18-year-old man in his Frankford home nearly three months ago.
Police said that the victim, Brahim Dukes, of Ruan Street near Penn Street, died of dehydration and malnutrition on Dec. 29. Police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests on Dukes, who had autism.
The teen apparently died while his father was serving a 38-day jail term for about $2,000 in unpaid parking tickets.
Police provided few details as the Times went to press, but the boy’s father told KYW radio that he’d asked a Traffic Court judge for leniency because of the need to care for his son. The boy reportedly was in the care of other relatives while the father served the jail time.
Traffic Court President Judge Fortunato N. Perri told KYW that the judge who handled the case contended that he was not made aware of the situation and recalled no specific appeals from the father.
Perri, who said he was sure something could have been worked out if the full details were known, also told the radio station that the father had defaulted on a payment plan to satisfy the outstanding fines.