Jerry Hawley, 36, of Prescott is led into the Brockville courthouse Thursday afternoon where he appeared for a bail hearing. (DARCY CHEEK/QMI Agency)

PRESCOTT — A Prescott man was charged with first-degree murder on Thursday in the 2008 starving death of his disabled older brother.

Ontario Provincial Police arrested Jerry Hawley, 36, Thursday morning in connection with the murder of his brother, Jamie Hawley, 41, who died nearly two years ago.

Police say on May 26, 2008, Jamie Hawley was taken by ambulance from his home in Prescott to Brockville General Hospital and died shortly arriving.

A post-mortem examination was conducted on May 28, 2008, and a coroner's investigation determined the cause of death was pneumonia, starvation and infected bedsores.

At the time of his death, Jamie Hawley was confined to a wheelchair due to a previous injury and lived with his brother, who was his guardian, added police.

“He was completely dependent on his brother,” said OPP spokesman Sgt. Kristine Rae. “He depended on him for transportation, food, everything.”

Rae would not discuss the nature of the injuries that confined the victim to a wheelchair, or say who called the ambulance for him.

Nor would Rae discuss what police consider the motive for the crime, or any further details.

Jerry Hawley's lawyer said Thursday his client intends to plead not guilty.

The alleged crime happened in a house now occupied by other residents who are not connected to the incident.

Some neighbours were shocked to hear of what police say happened in their midst.

But Jerry Hawley's treatment of his wheelchair-bound brother aroused suspicions that some neighbours could never substantiate, neighbour Lisa Davidson told QMI Agency, as Hawley was appearing in Brockville court for a bail hearing Thursday afternoon.

“You have your suspicions, but how do you prove that?” said Davidson, 38.

She said she never saw Jerry and his wife take Jamie out for a stroll or even put him out on the porch – even though the couple would walk their dog.

“How could you walk your dog and not take your brother out for fresh air? It doesn't make sense to me,” she said.

“I can't for the life of me remember anybody in a wheelchair,” said Mike Daku, 49, who added the address at the corner of the street has seen a steady turnaround of residents over the years.

Davidson, who has been interviewed by police, has lived in her nearby home for six years.

She recalled seeing Jamie Hawley moved into his brother's home in the fall of 2007.

Davidson said Jamie Hawley was paralyzed and unable to speak. She would see him in his wheelchair on occasion when the door to the home was open.

From her recollection, Davidson said Jamie Hawley weighed about 180 to 185 pounds when he was brought to his brother's home.

Shawn Noel, a kitchen manager at Boston Pizza in Brockville, said Jerry Hawley worked at the restaurant as a line cook between October 2008 and May 2009.

Hawley has since been working as a general contractor and was working on a former co-worker's basement, said Noel, adding his colleagues were “flabbergasted” by news of the murder charge.

“We still feel for him and are still behind him,” said Noel.

Neighbours of Hawley's George Street apartment described him mainly as a neighbour who kept to himself and did not cause trouble.

“He seemed to be a very nice guy to speak to,” said Judy Crowder, 54, who lives in the apartment below.

“To me, he was a good guy,” agreed next-door neighbour Carmen Cerasuolo, 57, who recalled having friendly chats with his neighbour over coffee.

Those chats never revealed anything suspicious, said Cerasuolo, who was shocked to see his neighbour taken away by police at 8 a.m. Thursday.

Hawley lived in the neighbouring apartment for about a year, he said.

Another acquaintance, Candy Alexander, even enlisted Hawley to perform as a clown in last November's Brockville Santa Claus Parade, alongside Cerasuolo dressed as Elvis.

Alexander, 60, also recalls Hawley as a skilled cook and said there was never any indication of anything suspicious.

“He didn't come across as that type of a character,” she said.

But over on West Street, Davidson said she and her neighbours were left wondering, when they heard of Jamie Hawley's death in 2008, if they could have done anything more.

“It was a shock,” she said. “Everybody felt bad.”

ronz@recorder.ca