LAS VEGAS (CelebrityAccess) The mother of “America’s Got Talent” season two winner and Las Vegas staple, ventriloquist Terry Fator, is suing her son to terminate their mother/son relationship partially because of the activities surrounding the death of her daughter, according to court documents obtained by The Blast.
Marie Fator Sligh, 74, claims that her son’s actions have been detrimental to her health and well-being and accuses him of using his wealth and the legal system to defame and harass her. She is asking the court to terminate any and all parental ties and relationship with Fator and is seeking $1.4 million for elder abuse, intentional infliction of emotional distress and harassment, according to The Blast. That figure can be reduced if Fator publicly apologizes to her, according to court documents.
Sligh claims Fator has been trying to “obstruct and prevent his Mother from investigating the death of her daughter in Defendant’s home; and for refusing to work with his Mother to resolve their problems privately thereby causing his elderly Mother extreme fear, humiliation, anxiety, embarrassment and financial difficulty.”
Sligh’s daughter, Deborah Fator, was found dead in the ventriloquist’s home in Las Vegas on June 21, 2015. The coroner determined she died from a combination of drugs including Oxycodone and Xanax. Sligh, however, says her daughter would not have taken her own life and has an email from 2014 to prove it, and she says Fator has been less than forthcoming on the events surrounding Deborah’s death, according to documents.
Sligh also claims Fator proceeded to become extremely angry after Deborah’s death, and sued Sligh for $50,000, which led to her to fear asking about Deborah’s death, according to The Blast. She is currently living off her social security checks and has health issues, claiming her son humiliated and embarrassed her. Marie claims Terry “was the instigator in filing numerous false charges” against her in the 1990s “when she left the religious cult Defendant-Son and his father started – a religious cult that had become sexually abusive.”
Sligh sums it up by saying, “Due to Defendant’s past seriously abusive behavior and since Defendant has proven he cannot be trusted, Plaintiff also asks the court to order funds, an amount to be determined later, be placed in a trust account to pay for 24 hour protection so Plaintiff can live the remainder of her life – the few years she has left on earth – in peace without having to live in fear always looking over her shoulder wondering what harm Defendant and the people he is associated with might bring to her.”
Fator, after winning “America’s Got Talent” and receiving the $1 million purse, signed a five-year, headlining deal with The Mirage in Las Vegas for a reported $100 million.
Fator’s camp had not responded to The Blast’s article at press time.
