James John Felbaum's bizarre Feb. 25 death and private life with a transsexual have been chronicled in public for weeks. Now, his family members would like to give 'Jimmy John' a private and proper burial. James Felbaum's body was cremated Tuesday after the Felbaum family petitioned Allegheny County courts for custody of the remains, said Tom Felbaum, the victim's brother. 'We paid hell getting my brother's body back,' said Tom Felbaum. Felbaum's father, Richard, a retired trucker from Unity Township, said yesterday the family will bury Felbaum in St. Mary's Cemetery, near Latrobe. 'I want to bury him in private next to his mother, Elizabeth. But we haven't been able to schedule anything yet,' he said. James Felbaum, 40, a former Ligonier Township handyman, died Feb. 25 at United Community Hospital in Grove City. State police in Butler said he died two days after he was castrated by his wife, Tammy, 42, in the filthy mobile home the couple shared in Marion Township, Butler County.

Because Tammy Felbaum was considered her husband's next of kin, the Felbaum family, through the Allegheny County Coroner's Office, had to petition the courts to get his remains for burial, said Tom Felbaum. 'She flat-out refused to do anything civilized at all toward getting my brother out of the coroner's office or the morgue.' A preliminary hearing for Tammy Felbaum on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and unauthorized practice of medicine and surgery in connection with the death of James John Felbaum, her sixth husband, was continued Friday at the Butler County Courthouse. The Butler District Attorney's office and Felbaum's attorney, Public Defender Dick Goldinger, said the hearing was postponed because Dr. Karl Williams of Lawrence County, who performed James Felbaum's autopsy, was unavailable to testify. The incident has generated a lot of publicity because Tammy Felbaum was born a man, Tommy Wyda, and had surgery approximately 20 years ago to become a woman. Tommy Wyda graduated in 1976 from Laurel Highlands High School in Fayette County. James Felbaum's father, his sister-in-law, Lisa, and first wife, Nadine - all of the Latrobe area - made the 1 &*#189;-hour drive to Butler for the hearing before Chicora District Justice Joseph O'Donnell and were disappointed it was continued. The Felbaums said they do not believe Tammy Felbaum's claims to police that James Felbaum tried to castrate himself. Richard Felbaum has said that his son enjoyed 'being a man.' However, Goldinger said yesterday that Tammy Felbaum intends to fight the charges. 'Our case is the classic ... she did not do it,' Goldinger said. 'She (Tammy) has told me she loved him dearly. She's upset she was charged with his death,' Goldinger said. He also said his client is distressed with various media reports on the couple's life. 'What does having fecal material in the building (mobile home) have to do with any of these charges?' Goldinger asked. Authorities allege that James Felbaum died after choking on his own vomit. They said the pain Felbaum experienced, combined with the level of painkilling drugs he ingested, suppressed his gag reflex, allowing him to choke on his vomit and die of asphyxiation. Authorities said James Felbaum, a 1979 Ligonier Valley High School graduate, had ingested Oxycontin, a powerful prescription painkiller, before he died. Williams also ruled that it was 'highly unlikely' that he had performed the castration on himself. Tammy Felbaum told authorities that her husband started the procedure himself and she agreed to help after being asked. Tammy Felbaum is being held without bond in the Cambria County Jail because of overcrowding at the jail in Butler. She did not appear in court yesterday. Meanwhile, state police are warning sightseers about trespassing on Tammy Felbaum's rural property, near Harrisville. Police said any individual caught trespassing on the lot or in the mobile home will be prosecuted. Neighbors have said that there has been a 'steady stream' of people driving up and down the road all day long to view the property.

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