Andover man sentenced to prison for hiding man's dead body in doghouse

An Andover Township man and former New York University grad student who admitted he was on a multi-day drug bender when he and another man hid a Hopatcong man's dead body in a doghouse was sentenced on Thursday to six years in state prison.

The sentencing of Brian Cheda Hackembruch, the second of two men involved in an illicit drug-fueled decision to flee to another state after covering the body with garbage bags under a deck outside a Sussex County home, closed out the final chapter in a case that had remained unresolved since 2021 as prosecutors considered heftier charges against the duo.

But, as the victim's mother stated in court, it's unlikely that the family will ever truly get closure.

"Had they done the right thing, had they called 911, my son could be alive today," the victim's mother said, adding that Cheda Hackembruch and his co-defendant Matthew Thomas' selfish involvement in her son's death "will never be forgotten."

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Cheda Hackembruch, 27, was sentenced to six years in state prison by state Superior Court Judge Michael Gaus who, while acknowledging Cheda Hackembruch's seemingly authentic remorse as to how he mistreated his friend's body, couldn't shake the severity, and cruelty, of the men's transgressions.

"Other than physically destroying a body, it's hard to imagine treating a body with more disrespect: Hide it in a doghouse and cover it like it was garbage," Gaus reiterated to the court. "It is hard to find words to describe the level of callousness that is involved in that decision-making process."

Cheda Hackembruch and Thomas — who in November was also sentenced to six years in prison — admitted they were doing drugs on July 3, 2021 at the victim's home and discovered the 47-year-old father dead in the bathroom. Toxicology reports determined the man died of a drug overdose, with traces of fentanyl in his system, prosecutors said. The victim's mother stated in court that her son was an insulin-dependent diabetic and medical intervention could have saved his life.

A charge of strict liability for drug-induced death against the men was considered, which would have held them accountable as providers of the drug that led to the victim's overdose death, but prosecutors lacked evidence to levy the charge, according to Sahil Kabse, a Sussex County assistant prosecutor.

Cheda Hackembruch pleaded guilty to a second-degree crime of disturbing or desecrating human remains stemming from the July 3, 2021 death when he and Thomas loaded the man's body in the victim's car and had a towing company offload the vehicle on West Lakeview Road in Andover, police said. The men then drove to a home on that street, placed the man's body in a wooden doghouse underneath the deck, covered it in garbage bags and drove to Delaware, where they were arrested. Thomas noted during his sentencing the men's actions were a "panicked" response to finding a dead body while the men were on a "bender" of methamphetamine; Cheda Hackembruch admitted he "had been up for nine days, barely any sleep, on a run of crystal meth."

The men also admitted to ransacking the victim's home and pleaded guilty to stealing his credit card, a fourth-degree crime.

Prosecutors, who sought the six-year prison term, pointed to the men's actions as not only irresponsible but selfish: "It speaks to having a criminal mentality." Kabse dismissed efforts by defense attorneys to mitigate Cheda Hackembruch's actions due to an ongoing drug addiction coupled with mental health diagnoses, including bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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John McGovern, Cheda Hackembruch's attorney, said his client has been making strides while in Morris County jail, taking "betterment" classes that he hopes will help him become a productive citizen once he's released.

Cheda Hackembruch's sentence will run consecutive to a federal sentence handed down by a U.S. District Court judge on Jan. 27, stemming from a large-scale meth operation in West Orange that he had allegedly been operating in 2019. He was ordered to serve a 50-month sentence in a federal prison after pleading guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

Cheda Hackembruch, as noted by his attorney, is well-educated, having been a student at New York University, where he studied engineering, before working as an intern at NYC Langone Health, an academic medical center.

Gaus ordered Cheda Hakembruch serve a 15-month term for the credit card theft, but it will run at the same time as his second-degree charge. He will be eligible for parole release from his state prison sentence as early as April of this year.

Lori Comstock can be reached on Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH, on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/LoriComstockNJH or by phone: 973-383-1194.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Andover NJ man sentenced for hiding dead body in doghouse