The Whitakers of Odd,West Virginia, are possibly the most well-known American inbred family. No one outside of the Whitakers’ immediate circle has any idea who they are or what they’ve been up to in recent years.
For his book Created Equal in 2004, Mark Laita photographed the family and brought them to worldwide attention. To get permission from the people to shoot the family, he was threatened by neighbors and had to explain himself.
Wothappen learnt that in 2020, Laita returned to see the Whitaker family and made a viral video of his time there.
The Whitaker family’s inbreeding may have contributed to the Whitakers’ mental and physical deformities.
Creating a family tree for the Whitaker family is practically impossible because of their secrecy. Ethical constraints prevent researchers from obtaining family data without consent, so researchers rely on self-reported inbreeding to create family trees.
The Whitaker documentary Netflix
During the Whitaker family’s 2020 interview with Mark, Lorraine, Ray, and Timmy are shown. An undiagnosed mental illness prevents the three from providing meaningful responses.
The family lives in a run-down house and appears untidy, giving the video a gloomy vibe. Given the low average annual income in southwestern West Virginia, we believe the family is struggling to make ends meet.
Food and money were given to the Whitaker family as a sign of Mark Laita’s goodwill towards them. This is what he has to say about it:
“To be clear about my interaction with the family, I brought them pizzas and soft drinks and paid them nicely, which goes a long way in southwestern West Virginia where the average yearly income is as low as $12K a year in some counties. This was my fourth visit and I’ve given the family a financial gift each time.”
Are the Whitaker Actually Inbred
Discover Magazine revealed that inbred children have lower IQs, less lung capacity, and are more likely to contract diseases. ‘At a high risk of rare recessive genetic abnormalities,’ it found that inbred children.
The Whitakers have not yet been examined by a medical professional, but many feel that their health problems are the result of inbreeding. a note from Mark Laita
“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.”
We may never be able to solve the Whitakers’ family problems. Until the family reveals their past, we can only assume. In the meanwhile, Mark Laita has issued a warning:
“I strongly discourage anyone attempting to look for the Whitakers as their armed neighbors and the Raleigh County deputies both make it clear that curious visitors are not welcome.”
Learn More: Who are the Whitaker inbred family