Brandon Haarman / Photo from Chicago Police
BY LEEANN SHELTON
Sun-Times Media
Brandon Haarman was sentenced to probation Tuesday after being convicted on a lesser charge for fatally stabbing his father during a 2013 argument in their Portage Park apartment.
Haarman, 29, was initially charged with first-degree murder for the Aug. 27, 2013, death of his father, 53-year-old Jim Haarman, authorities said.
Brandon Haarman stabbed his father 13 times in the chest, shoulder area and face during an argument at their apartment in the 3900 block of North Long Avenue, authorities said.
Defense attorney Theodore Adams had said that Brandon Haarman stabbed his father in self-defense after the older man lunged at him while they were arguing over rent money.
The father had been physically and emotionally abusive, and wanted to keep Brandon Haarman as a roommate so he could collect his disability checks, Adams said.
Adams noted Brandon Haarman has a learning disability, the mental capacity of a 12-year-old and was “distraught” after learning his father died.
In January, Brandon Haarman was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder during a bench trial before Judge James Obbish, according to court records.
On Tuesday, he was sentenced to four years’ probation and must submit to mental health evaluations, Cook County state’s attorney’s office spokesman Stephen Campbell said.