DARK PAST
Shock revelation about ‘America’s most inbred family’ the Whittakers as twin founders’ grandsons’ chilling past emerges
THE dark past of two grandsons from twin brothers who sparked "America's most inbred family" has emerged.
Henry and John Whittaker were twins born to Thomas and Eliza Whittaker in 1887.
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The twins' children, who were double-first cousins, married and had 15 of their own children, now dubbed the Whittaker Clan.
Henry Whittaker had a son, John Whittaker, and his twin brother by the same name had a daughter called Gracie, and the pair married in 1935.
One of the couple's 15 children was John Wade Whittaker who passed away in 2022.
John and Ethel Jean Meadows-Devereux had five children including two sons, John Wade Jr., 45, and Jason Whittaker, 44.
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The pair have both been convicted of sexual assault with a child in two different incidents, according to a report by the .
Jason has been convicted of two counts of predatory criminal assault after attacking a 13-year-old girl in Illinois in 2001.
After being in prison for eight years, he was jailed again after failing to register as a sex offender after moving back to Raleigh County in 2015.
He was also driving a vehicle that he was not registered for.
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Jason is currently behind bars at the Salem Correctional Center and Jail under the charges of grand larceny and failure to register.
Records obtained by the Daily Mail also show that John Jr. was charged with "indecent liberties" against a 13- to 17-year-old child in North Carolina.
He was jailed in 1999 for a year and eight months before moving back to Odd, West Virginia, in 2010.
Like his brother, John also failed to re-register as a sex offender and was sentenced but has since been released.
According to new mugshots, a warrant was issued for his arrest last month.
The Daily Mail has seen records showing that both brothers are still registered as living in Odd, close to the family home.
The union between the double-first cousins started a domino effect of Whittaker family members suffering from genetic defects.
Ray Whittaker struggles to speak, an issue thought to be linked to inbreeding and so he grunts and uses gestures instead.
Filmmaker Mark Laita revealed the disturbing behavior that "America's most inbred family" displayed during their meeting.
Laita first visited the Whittaker family of Odd, West Virginia, in 2004.
He told the Koncrete Klips podcast that his first visit was "the craziest thing" he had ever seen.
"It was out of control. There are these people walking around and their eyes are going in different directions and they are barking at us," Latia said.
Members of the family also appeared to have physical and mental health issues that date back to the set of the Whittaker twins, according to birth certificates revealed by the .
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Following a number of follow-up visits including in 2022, Laita created a to help the family make necessary improvements to their home.
The fundraiser is no longer accepting donations and over $55,000 was raised for the family who live in a cramped trailer.
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