The Whittakers: The Most Inbred Family in America
The Whittakers reside in a town called Odd, West Virginia
Little information about the Whittaker family is found online, but one man named Mark Laita introduced us to the family back in 2004 in his book, Created Equally. In 2020, Laita revisited the Whittakers, videotaping some of the visits to use for a short documentary depicting the horrors of inbreeding.
The Whittaker family is known as the “Most Inbred Family in America.” The family -now consisting of Lorraine, Ray, Timmy, and a few others, live in the village of Odd, West Virginia, a seemingly appropriate town name for them, in a run-down shack.
T he Village of Odd
Odd, located in Raleigh County, is home to about 779 people. Only a post office is located in Odd. There are no supermarkets, shopping centers, movie theaters, banks, or other facilities. People travel to Beckley or Daniels, each about half hour drive when they need groceries or other essentials. The nearest major city is Greensboro, North Carolina, located 130 miles away.
Laita visited the Whittakers on four separate occasions. They agreed to photographs in exchange for gifts including clothes, money, and food, things hard to come by for the family who barely survives or can make ends meet.
“The individuals in this video are brothers and sisters, except for Timmy who is a cousin. There is no way I would be able to confirm that the Whitaker parents were related, but given that this does happen in this part of the country and the Whitakers are the most extreme case I’ve seen so far, I would bet that inbreeding was at least partly responsible for the mental and physical abnormalities seen in Lorraine, Freddie, Ray, and Timmy.”- Mark Laita
As a result of incest, each member of the Whittaker family suffers from cognitive and physical disabilities and genetic deformities. Their home reportedly is “heavily guarded” by neighbors and police deputies.
The Whittakers have little contact with anyone in the outside world., and most of the family members never attended school. Timmy graduated from high school and Lorraine did as well.
A few of the family members cannot speak words. Instead, they make grunting noises and other sounds.
Speaking to KLIPS Podcast, Laita said,
“It was like that little scene from Deliverance that everyone knows.
"We came around to this road, which turns into a country road, which turns into a dirt road, and we come to this trailer and then a little shack on the other side of the road.
"And there’s these people walking around and their eyes are going in different directions and they are barking at us.
"And then one guy, you would look at him in the eye or say anything and he would just scream and go running away, and his pants would fall around his ankles, and he would go running off and go and kick a garbage can.
"And this would happen over and over. It was out of control - the craziest thing I have ever seen."
The Whittaker parents were double first cousins, Betty Whittaker eventually told Laita, although initially, she did not reveal whether the parents were related. Betty is one of the siblings featured in the documentary.
I know you want to know more about The Whittakers and see the documentary, so here you go!
Facts & Information About Incest:
In all but two U.S. states, incest is a crime. Only Rhode Island and New Jersey allow incestual relationships.
- Ohio allows incest as long as one of the adults is not a parental figure
- West Virginia has long been linked to inbreeding due to the state’s poverty levels and some of the residents “hillbilly” appearance.
- Miscarriage, increased risk of infertility, low birth rate and neonatal mortality are some of the risks of an incestual pregnancy.
- Children born to incestual couples have a 4% higher rate of birth defects than the general population.
Sources:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-whittakers
*ALL PHOTOS USED IN THIS STORY WERE TAKEN BY MARK LAITA*
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