Portage Park man gets probation for fatally stabbing his father

A man was sentenced to probation Tuesday after being convicted on a lesser charge for fatally stabbing his father during an argument in 2013 in their Northwest Side apartment.

Brandon 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.

The younger 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, police and prosecutors said at the time.

Brandon Haarman’s defense attorney, Theodore Adams, said at a 2013 bond hearing that his client 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 as a roommate so he could collect his disability checks, Adams said.

He also said that Brandon Haarman has a learning disability and the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, and was “distraught” after learning his father died.

The younger Haarman was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in January in a bench trial before Judge James Obbish, court records show.

He was sentenced Tuesday to four years’ probation, and must submit to mental health evaluations, Cook County state’s attorney’s office spokesman Stephen Campbell said.