EXCLUSIVE: Grandsons of identical twin brothers who started America’s most inbred family were both convicted of sex crimes against children – and failed to register as offenders after being jailed for their assaults
EXCLUSIVE: Grandsons of identical twin brothers who started America's most inbred family were both convicted of sex crimes against children - and failed to register as offenders after being jailed for their assaults
- John Wade Whittaker Jr, 45, and Jason Whittaker, 44, were both convicted of sexual assault with a child in two separate incidents
- The pair are sons of John Wade Whittaker, the son of Gracie and John Whittaker,two first cousins who got married and had 15 children
- Jason currently remains behind bars at the Salem Correctional Center and Jail on charges of failing to register and grand larceny
Daily Mail
By EMMA JAMES IN ODD, WEST VIRGINIA, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 12:51 EDT, 17 April 2023 | UPDATED: 13:53 EDT, 17 April 2023
Two grandsons of identical twin brothers who started America's most inbred family have both previously been jailed for sexual offenses against children, DailyMail.com can reveal.
John Wade Whittaker Jr, 45, and Jason Whittaker, 44, were both convicted of sexual assault with a child in two separate incidents.
The pair are sons of John Wade Whittaker, who passed away in 2022, and Ethel Jean Meadows-Devereux, who died in 2021.
Whittaker is the son of Gracie and John Whittaker, two first cousins who got married and had 15 children.
Jason was convicted of two counts of predatory criminal assault against a 13-year-old girl in McHenry County in Illinois in 2001, spending eight years in prison.
He was jailed again for failing to register as a sex offender when he moved back to Raleigh County in 2015 as well as driving a vehicle that was not registered to him.
The convicted felon is currently still behind bars at the Salem Correctional Center and Jail on charges of failing to register and grand larceny.
John Jr was jailed in 1999 on charges of 'indecent liberties' against a child aged 13 to 17 in Catawba, North Carolina.
He spent a year and eight months in prison, before moving back to Odd in 2010 where he also failed to re-register as a sex offender.
Like his brother, he was sentenced for failing to re-register but appears to have been released - but updated mugshots show that a warrant appeared to be out for his arrest in March this year.
In records seen by DailyMail.com the pair are still registered as living in Odd close to other members of the family on the same road.
On a recent visit to Odd, West Virginia, DailyMail spoke with members of the family who communicate in grunts and barks.
A set of identical twin brothers sparked the family's history of incest, with the children of Henry and John Whittaker getting married and having their first child in 1937.
Aileen was the first of 15 children that the couple had, and passed away in June 1997 after suffering from a heart attack and had on son called Frankie with her husband.
The couple then had a baby boy, Emery Lee Whittaker, in 1938, who died a month later after suffering from pneumonia.
Barbra Whittaker was born in September 1940, and did not appear to marry before she died following a short illness in October 2008.
An obituary shows that she died at St Mary's Hospital in Huntington, and she was described as a homemaker who loved picnics with her family.
Not much is known about the next two sisters, Nannie Lou Whittaker, born in 1942, and Connie Jean Whittaker, born in 1943.
Both married and are still living in Lowe, with Nannie Lou losing her husband William, later remarrying a man called Leonard, and Connie living with her husband, James.
Freddie Lee Whittaker was born in 1944 and made-up part of the documentary produced in 2004 and was part of the family portrait along with his brother Ray.
He passed away in May 2013 following a long illness and is buried close to the family home in Odd. It is not clear if his illness was related to his genetic complications.
Another member of the family who is included in all parts of the updated documentary in 2021 is Lorene Whittaker, who was born in 1946 and has one son called Timmy Whittaker, born 1979.
Mary Madeline Whittaker was born in 1948, and passed away the following year, though it is unclear the cause for this.
John Wade Whittaker died in 2022, after being born in 1950, and had five children, several grandchildren and one great-grandson.
He suffered a long battle with cancer, and died with his loving wife Sophia by his side, and was cared for at Bowers Hospice House.
Betty Ann Whittaker is considered the matriarch of the family, and reportedly promised her mother that she would not marry and planned to look after her 14 sibling
She was born in 1952 and features a lot on the documentary, taking care of shopping to ensure the members living in the small run-down property are eating enough.
Danny Ray Whittaker, known as Ray, was born a year after Betty.
Larry Whittaker and Kenneth Whittaker were born in 1956, and 1957, and also appear in the most recent documentary and talk about how their lives have improved.
The final two siblings are Judy Kay Whittaker, born in 1959 and Michael Stevie Whittaker born in 1960.
Michael passed away in July 2001, aged 40, while Judy died in August of 2021 – though it is unclear how they both died.
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