The man who discovered a family described as the ‘most inbred family’ in the USA has accused them of ‘lying’ to him.
Mark Laita discovered the Whittaker family back in 2004 and called them the ‘most popular inbred family in the United States’.
He then spent time with them, getting to know them in their own home and documenting their lives in the aptly-named town of Odd, Virginia, sharing the content to his YouTube channel.
Mark Laita’s relationship with the Whittakers has been fraught at times
The relationship between documentary filmmaker and subject hasn’t been smooth sailing all the way, and at one stage one of the family allegedly ‘pulled a gun’ on him.
In one particular video, Laita talked with a cousin within the family called John who explained some of the negative attention they have had from people.
"When I was growing up, people would come here and they would throw eggs at the house," he explained.
"They would throw stuff at the house and scream all hours of the night. I mean, people [were] just rude."
So, because of this, when Laita first became involved, one of the family allegedly grabbed a firearm, although they later made friends.
However, there was one moment that soured the relationship after Laita realized that he’d been lied to.
He believes that the Whittakers faked the death of a relative - Larry - after a heart attack.
Laita donated $1,000 to the funeral costs, but later learned that Larry was, in fact, alive and well.
In a video entitled ‘The Death of Larry Whittaker’, the supposed dead man could be seen outside the family house discussing the matter.
Asked if he was responsible for the hoax, Larry said: "No, I just heard of it last night on a video.”
Laita then told him that money had been given to his daughter BJ to help with the expenses.
BJ later fessed up and apologized, although it isn’t clear whether the money was returned.
After that incident in 2024, it seems as if peace has been restored, as Laita has been back with them filming.
He even continues to help the family, who had a fire at their mobile home last year that Laita started a GoFundMe page for.
Why are the Whittakers called America’s ‘most inbred family’
The Whittakers were given this unwanted title because of - you’ve guessed it - their family history.
For over a century there have been close marriages within the family, which stem from two twin brothers, Henry and John Whittaker.
As a result several members of the family are mentally and physically disabled.
Henry and John’s children Harry and Sally, cousins, but more closely related because of their identical twin fathers, married and produced seven children, including a son called John.
John then married his first cousin Ada and had nine children, including Gracie.
Gracie then married her double first cousin, also called John, and they had 15 children.
You get the picture.
Unsurprisingly, this pattern of intermarriage produced a number of genetic disabilities.
There has been hardship as well, with at least one incident of rape by an unidentified culprit leading to the birth of one family member.