A transsexual who became known as 'Tammy-Tommy' after castrating himself and eventually having a sex-change operation was charged Tuesday in the death of her sixth husband, who died after being castrated, authorities said. Tammy L. Felbaum - also known as Tammy Lipnicky and Tammy McCall - who lives in an unheated, backwoods trailer on Smith Road in Marion Township, Butler County, was charged with criminal homicide, reckless endangerment and unauthorized practice of medicine and surgery. As she was leaving state police headquarters yesterday, Felbaum, 42, told reporters she did not castrate her husband, James John Felbaum, 40, a former Westmoreland County handyman who died Feb. 25. An autopsy showed that James Felbaum, who left his wife and children several years ago to be with Tammy, died after choking on his own vomit. The pathologist who examined Felbaum concluded that the castration, which was done by someone without medical training, played a part in Felbaum's death, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The pathologist also said 'it was highly unlikely that the victim had performed the surgical procedure on himself,' the affidavit states. The victim's father, Richard Felbaum of Unity Township, said yesterday he and other family members were 'relieved' by news of the arrest. Felbaum said his son, a 1979 Ligonier Valley High School graduate, left his first wife and their two children in the mid-1990s 'to be with Tammy.' He said his son met the transsexual through a distant relative from the Latrobe area who was 'going with her.' 'It's been downhill since he started going with Tammy. I feel bad saying it, but I figured if it wasn't booze, drugs or one of her (Tammy's) irate boyfriends, he might end up like this... she always had a temper.' Richard Felbaum said he had only sporadic contact with his son since James Felbaum left Ligonier for Butler County about two years ago. Another relative, Dorothy Felbaum, said 'Jimmy John... was a real nice kid... at least until a couple years ago when he met (Tammy.) He was in business for himself, doing painting, home repairs, aluminum siding work.' She said Tammy Felbaum talked openly about being a transsexual. 'Tammy scared me the way she talked about it. I remember someone asked her questions about the operation and she lifted up her T-shirt for all the world to see and asked us, 'Does this look like the body of a man?'' Dorothy Felbaum said. Butler County District Attorney Tim McCune said yesterday that Tammy Felbaum had been a man before undergoing a sex-change operation about 20 years ago. Richard Felbaum said that Tammy Felbaum's behavior scared his family. 'Once she sliced off the end of a live electrical cord and put it to the head of a relative just to see what his reaction would be. I always thought Jimmy could do better and should know better.' Richard Felbaum said Tammy Felbaum was 'handy' with medical equipment and that he had seen her spaying and neutering cats and dogs. Richard Felbaum said his son had been in drug rehabilitation several times in recent years and had left a halfway house on Feb. 22, three days before his death. 'Unfortunately, he was into drugs real bad. It just progressed worse and worse,' he said. Although authorities yesterday said James John Felbaum was Tammy's sixth husband, they did not say if she was divorced or widowed by the others. According to a an affidavit of probable cause, Tammy Felbaum told investigators that she had removed her own testicles when she still was a man. McCune said that investigators found a handwritten letter in the trailer that might be from James Felbaum claiming that he wanted the castration performed on him. Tammy Felbaum told investigators that James Felbaum had started the castration himself, but then asked his wife for help, the affidavit states. Richard Felbaum said he has doubts that his son wanted to be castrated. 'That boy, he liked his life the way it was ... being a man.' According to the affidavit: Paramedics were called to the Felbaum trailer on Feb. 25 and thought James Felbaum was suffering from a drug overdose when they found him naked and unresponsive with brown vomit coming from his mouth. He was taken to United Community Hospital in Grove City, Mercer County, where he died in the emergency room. Hospital personnel did not notice that he had been castrated. After the Mercer County Coroner ordered an autopsy, the pathologist noticed that Felbaum's testicles had been removed but that his penis was intact. Investigators said yesterday the testicles have not been found. The autopsy showed the drug Oxycontin was in Felbaum's system, but said that while the amount was in the toxic range, it was not a lethal dose. Felbaum had enough narcotics in his system to suppress his gag reflex and cause him to choke on his vomit, the affidavit states. Oxycontin is powerful painkiller commonly used by cancer patients. When state police searched Felbaum's feces- and urine-filled mobile home which had no running water, they found a makeshift laboratory complete with examination table, a defibrillator and several other pieces of medical equipment. Tammy Felbaum is jailed without bond to await a preliminary hearing March 20 before District Justice Clifford Woessner of Slippery Rock. Staff writer Michael Hasch contributed to this report.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)