Here at PopFi, we’ve seen people who have broken into restaurants to eat before, but rarely has there been a story quite as unusual or sad as the story of Matthew Hummel. Hummel, a 20-year-old from Charlevoix, Michigan, isn’t like your usual food thief. He’s not homeless; in fact, he lives with his mother Tracine and father Travis in Charlevoix, Michigan. However, he’s been arrested for breaking into his neighbor’s houses to eat because he’s got the unusual medical condition known as Prader-Willi Syndrome.
Prader-Willi Syndrome, basically, means your body never feels full, so you just eat and eat and eat your way to extreme obesity, among other health problems. In Matthew’s case, his Prader-Willi Syndrome also manifested with severe mental handicaps like a low IQ, mild autism, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. A neighbor that filed the police report says he’s tried to deal with the problem for three years, but that his children don’t feel safe in their home and the Hummels aren’t able to control Matthew’s behavior anymore.
“We threw a package of freezer burned pork chops out. We threw them in the trash and he found them about a week later… and he ate that. I mean, pork — raw pork,” said Travis. “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. I wouldn’t wish this syndrome on anybody… so why is he doing this?” The Hummels have been trying to get Matthew into a treatment facility for people with PWS, but say the closest one is in Wisconsin; instead, they plan on fencing in their yard to keep Matthew at home.
Image: Prader-Willi Syndrome: Coping With the Disease by Urs Einholzer
Tags: Prader-Willi Syndrome, unusual medical conditions, unusual genetic conditions, man breaks into houses to steal food, Matthew Hummel, Charlevoix, Michigan, unusual criminals, unusual crimes, man steals food from neighbors