The Whitaker family is resident in Odd, West Virginia in the United States, but they are said to be British. The family gained international attention when reports revealed that they were America’s most inbred family.
The patriarch of the family is no longer alive, but there are still a few members of the Whitaker household comprising older people. According to reports, the surviving individuals in the family suffer from both physical and mental inabilities as a result of inbreeding. Most of them cannot even talk coherently and can only communicate with grunts.
What is the Story of the Whitakers?
The story of the Whitakers is an intriguing one that has got many curious. In the entire United States, they are considered to be the most inbred family. What this means, in essence, is that each and every member of their lineage have blood ties.
A long time ago, people thought the patriarch of the Whitaker family, John Whitaker, was a brother to his wife. However, a recent investigation revealed them to be cousins. Because they are biologically and genetically related, getting the family history of the Whitakers has proved to be a herculean task.
The members themselves did not help matters as they are unnaturally overprotective of their family information aided by the community where they live.
Where is the Whitaker Family From?
It is common knowledge that the Whitakers live in the United States of America, and their exact location was revealed to be Odd, West Virginia, in the Appalachian region. However, they are said to be a British family.
The remaining members of the brood comprise older people who earn a living working on the farm left by their father, John Whitaker. It is also worthy of note that the Whitaker keeps several dogs.
The first that was heard of the family was in 2004 when celebrity photographer Mark Laita took shots of them for his book entitled Created Equal. 16 years later, in 2020, Mark went back to the family to create a video he called “Inbred Family: The Whitakers, $; this later birthed a documentary depicting the shocking consequences of inbreeding. The documentary has attracted millions of views from people across the globe.
Who is Who in the Whitaker Family?
The members of the Whittaker household are quite stingy with their family details. Thus, getting information about their current number and individual identities is very difficult.
However, reports revealed that the household currently has five family members living in it. There is Ray, Lorraine, Timmy (a cousin), Freddie, including a sister whose name is not known. With that said, people still believe that there may be other family members that are yet to be addressed.
Medical researchers have revealed that inbreeding causes a lot of physical and mental abnormalities, and this is evident in the inhabitants of the Whittaker family home. While interacting with Lorraine, Ray, and Timmy in his 2020 video, photographer Mark found out that they couldn’t offer any coherent answers, which are proof that they are suffering from an undiagnosed mental condition.
Most of the time, they only answer questions with grunts, and there are some that cannot speak at all. Reports also revealed that they never bothered to acquire basic education. Thus, they didn’t interact with their peers. For now, the Whitakers are yet to undergo any medical examinations, but it is obvious that their issues resulted from inbreeding.
The patriarch of the family, John Whitaker is late, and Freddie has also died; the cause of death is listed as cardiac arrest.
Does the Whitaker Family Have a Problem?
Apart from their undiagnosed mental illness, Lorraine, Ray, and Timmy also battle with other issues, including financial problems; their unkept appearance is a testament to the state of their finances.
Their abode in Odd, West Virginia nothing to write home about as the family lives in what has been described as deplorable and debilitating conditions. Putting food on the table is very difficult as they don’t even get enough food from their father’s farmland to go around. The one called Ray passes through the day, emitting grunts and asking just one question, “So, what’s the problem?”
The unkempt and decrepit appearance of their home gave Mark’s video a sad feeling when it was released. It is obvious that apart from their farm, no other person from that household goes out to work to earn some extra cash, and they still have several dogs to feed apart from themselves. The reason for their inability to get paid employment may be that they never bothered to get an education. This has made life in the Whitaker family a huge struggle.
When Mark Laita noticed their struggle with survival, he started visiting them with financial gifts like cash, clothing, food, and more, all in a bid to get them talking, but at the end of the day, he couldn’t get much out of them.
To further assist the family, Mark went on to create a GoFundMe targeted at aiding them in making necessary improvements both to their home and themselves. At the last count, the count accumulated over $46,000, which is believed will go a long way for them.
The Family is Well Protected
It is not only the members of the Whitaker family that are protective of their family info. It also happens that they get enough protection from their community. To be precise, it is their community that made it difficult for people to interact with the Whitakers.
According to Mark Laita, his first attempt to photograph the Whitakers was met with threats from their immediate neighbors armed with shotguns. Mark said he had to offer a lengthy explanation detailing his reasons for wanting to take shots of the family members before he was granted permission. What this proves is that the Whitaker enjoy a lot of protection in their community which may be why no one knew about their existence for a very long time.
It was thanks to Mark’s video that the family gained international attention, and so far, the intriguing mystery surrounding the Whitakers has led the video to amass above 29 million views. 250k people liked it, while it was disliked by 12,000. A YouTube channel known as Soft White Underbelly also shared the video.
On whether he would advise other people to go seek out the Whitaker family, Mark warned the curious cats to stay away; according to the celebrity photographer, both Raleigh County and their immediate neighbors have made it very clear that visitors are not welcome.
