Tammy Slaton’s approval for weight loss surgery was a big part of 1000-Lb. Sisters Season 4 Episode 5. But that wasn’t the only thing “Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread” revealed about the Slaton Family. Tammy’s sister Amy Slaton Halterman mentions their grandfather In the episode. He got poisoned with antifreeze by their uncle in the late 1980s. Here’s the story of the Slaton’s grandfather’s death as mentioned in volume two of Murder in the Heartland.
‘Murder in the Heartland Volume 2’ mentions Amy and Tammy’s grandfather’s death by antifreeze
Harry Spiller’s Murder in the Heartland are a collection of murder stories that took place in Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky, where the Slaton Family is from. As Amy revealed in episode 5 of 1000-Lb. Sisters Season 4, their grandfather’s murder comes up in Spiller’s second book, Murder in the Heartland Volume II.
When Chris Combs arrives “looking like their grandfather” to help Amy plant a vegetable garden, she tells cameras how the family patriarch was murdered by his son. Spiller’s 2003 book has a chapter titled “The Antifreeze Murder (Shawneetown, IL),” which details how Charles H. Ellis murdered his father in 1986.
“Very sad book,” Amy wrote in a 2015 review of the book (via Amazon). “My grandpa was one of the [chapter] in it…”
Amy Slaton’s grandfather’s death report from the Logansport Pharos-Tribune
According to the Logansport Pharos-Tribune, a Logansport, Indiana newspaper, Shawneetown resident Ellis was arrested and charged with three counts of murder in December 1986. He was “suspected of spiking his father’s iced tea with antifreeze.” Ellis was living with 61-year-old Charles T. Ellis at the time.
The newspaper clipping continues: “…Ellis became ill at his home the morning of Nov. 6 after drinking some iced tea. Authorities said it was thought at first that Ellis had suffered a stroke. He was taken to Pearce Hospital in Eldorado.”
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At the hospital, Ellis’ condition became worse. He was transferred to St. Mary’s Hospital on Nov. 7 in Evansville, Indiana, where he died on Nov. 20.
Tammy Slaton gets approval for weight loss surgery in the same episode
Episode 5 of 1000-Lb. Sisters Season 4 also touches on Tammy’s approval for weight loss surgery. When the season began, Tammy entered rehab at her highest weight — 717 pounds. Ultimately, she worked to lose nearly 200 pounds and called her doctor when she reached 534 pounds, which is 16 pounds under her goal weight.
The doctor gave Tammy verbal approval to get surgery but said he would need a few other specialists to sign off before she could go under the knife. Tammy has to meet with a cardiologist and a therapist for a psych evaluation before she can officially get the approval for the surgery.
Keep up with the Slaton Family. New episodes of 1000-Lb. Sisters Season 4 air Tuesdays at 9 p.m. on TLC.
