BUTLER, PA. Expert's unavailability delays castration suspect's hearing

Family members are planning a private memorial service for James Felbaum.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
BUTLER, Pa. -- A woman accused in the castration death of her husband will wait at least another week for a preliminary hearing.
Butler County District Attorney Timothy McCune asked to postpone the hearing Friday because forensic pathologist Karl Williams was not available to testify. A new hearing date has not been set but could be set sometime the first week of April, said Dick Goldinger, the public defender representing Tammy Felbaum.
James Felbaum, 40, was pronounced dead Feb. 25 at United Community Hospital in Grove City. An autopsy showed that he died choking on his own vomit because his gag reflex was numb from taking painkillers.
His wife, Tammy Felbaum, who is a transsexual, is accused of castrating her husband in a crude surgery at their trailer home in Butler County between Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, contributing to his death.
She faces charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and unauthorized practice of medicine and surgery.
Disappointed: James Felbaum's family members were in court Friday for the scheduled hearing and said they were disappointed that it was postponed.
Felbaum's father, Richard, and sister-in-law, Lisa, say they don't believe James Felbaum consented to the castration. Tammy Felbaum has told police that her husband started castrating himself, then asked her to complete the operation.
Nadine Felbaum, who was married to James before he met Tammy, also doubts the self-castration claim.
"I don't think he would ever do that. When I was married to him he had many affairs. He liked women," she said.
It's unclear whether James and Nadine Felbaum were ever divorced. She said her husband claimed to have filed for divorce in Butler County, but no records have been found.
Children: Nadine Felbaum said the circumstances surrounding James Felbaum's death have been particularly troubling for their two children.
She said daughter Christina, 13, is developmentally disabled and doesn't fully understand the circumstances of her father's death, but son Nicholas, 9, has seen media reports and is upset.
"My son always had this dream that someday, somehow his father would drop back into his life," she said.
James Felbaum had not seen his children in at least a year, she said.
Criticism: Family members spoke critically of Tammy Felbaum and how she lived in her rural Marion trailer home.
Richard Felbaum said he refused to go the home, which health officials say was filthy and littered with dead animals. They would meet at a nearby truck stop, he said.
The family members say they hope to have a memorial service sometime in the near future for James. His remains were cremated and given to the family this week, they said.
Tammy Felbaum remains in jail without bond.