Why Was ‘Return to Amish’ Star Jeremiah’s Father Murdered By His Aunt?

Return to Amish star Jeremiah Raber was adopted into the Amish lifestyle as a baby, and while the reality TV personality was on the hunt to connect with his ancestry, he was shocked to find out that his biological dad was murdered by his aunt. Keep reading to find out everything we know about the Return to Amish star’s interesting family history. 

As seen in the trailer for Return to Amish, set to premiere on March 14, 2023, Jeremiah revealed that his “real father was probably murdered because of me.” 

Jeremiah had been on the search to connect with his biological family after learning at a young age that he was part Native American. “I hung onto that as it was the only thing I knew about myself,” the reality TV personality explained during the March 14, 2023, episode, in a teaser shared by TLC. 

While for the last 20 years he believed his father was a man by the name of Dennis, it was later disproven by a DNA test.

Why Was ‘Return to Amish’ Star Jeremiah Raber’s Father Murdered?

While it was very upsetting for Jeremiah to discover that Dennis wasn’t his father, he learned that his biological mom cheated on Dennis with her sister’s husband.

“While my mother was married to Dennis. She had an affair with her sister’s husband [Larry Hiltabidel],” Jeremiah recounted to producers. “And that’s when she became pregnant with me.”

The Return to Amish star then revealed Larry was actually his biological father and he was killed by his wife in his sleep a year after he was born. “We believe it’s because she found out about me,” he continued. 

According to a newspaper clipping from The Akron Beach Journal published in December 23, 1981, Sheila Hiltabidel was charged with murder in the stabbing death of her husband. 

The publication states that she allegedly stabbed her husband once in the chest and Larry died of his injuries about two hours later in the hospital. The detective stated that the Hiltabidels reportedly went out with Larry’s father and his brother to a bar for drinks and electronic games before Larry’s father dropped them off at their home at about 9:45 p.m.