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In Virginia, America, a family lives that is not very common to others, because they created it through inbreeding, which occurs when related individuals reproduce. Photographer Mark Laida first exposed the particular situation of this family group in 2004. Later, in 2020, he returned and made a documentary in which he further explored them, presenting the impairment and mental health problems due to this type of reproduction.
The Whitakers are not easy to relate to. When Lyda first approached them to film them for a documentary, she was immediately threatened by her protective neighbors. However, the filmmaker is soon taken by a local police officer to meet the family, who live in the rural town of Ott, West Virginia.
The filmmaker explained, “It was like that little scene from the movie ‘Vidukhai’ that everyone knows. We come to this road that turns into a country road, turns into a dirt road, comes to this trailer, and comes to a small cottage on the other side of the road. These people walk, their eyes go in different directions, and they bark at us.
Whittaker. Photo: Soft White Underbelly/YouTube
Known as the most cultured family in America, the Whitakers are uneducated and live in an isolated cottage in the country far from civilization.
During the meeting between the family group and Lyta, the film director discovers that three brothers and a cousin live together in a dirty house with their dogs. Some members can only speak in mumbles or whispers and suffer from physical and mental problems.
When asked, Betty would not say that her parents were related and that she did not know why Ray, Lorraine, and Timmy had disabilities.
Whittaker. Photo: Soft White Underbelly/YouTube
Lyta initially wrote: “I can’t confirm that their parents are related, but as it happens in this part of the country, the Whitakers are the most serious case I’ve ever seen.”
Members include Freddie, one of the sons of a family made up of cousins; However, he died of heart disease a few years ago.
“I would bet that inbreeding is partly responsible for the mental and physical abnormalities observed in Lorraine, Freddie, Ray and Timmy,” added the photographer.
When Lyda revisited the Whitakers and recorded a follow-up video a year later, Betty confirmed that her parents were double first cousins.
In his YouTube clips, the artist warns that those who want to see the family to make fun of or upset them will be turned away. Also, through these documentaries, the photographer has helped raise money for repairs and improvements to the Whitakers’ home. The Collection As he is now trying to buy them a new house, the finances are still going.
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