The filmmaker who discovered America's "most inbred family" and put them on the world stage has finally announced "I'm done with them" claiming "they've been lying to me all along".
Mark Laita has been documenting the Whittakers' lives since 2020 on his YouTube channel, Soft White Underbelly and earlier this year announced the death of 67-year-old Larry after a suspected heart attack.
But things turned sour after he launched a fundraising drive and handed over $1,000 (£790) towards Larry's funeral - only to discover he wasn't even dead.
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It came after fans spotted the dad alive and well in a video titled "The Death of Larry Whittaker," in which Larry is seen sitting on the front porch of the family home discussing his own supposed passing.
![Mark said the whole family are 'lying to me'](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article32409236.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Deliverance-inbred-family-member-who-can-only-grunt-grabbed-hold-of-scared-screaming-woman.jpg)
Mark said he had given Larry's daughter, BJ, $1,000 (£790) towards the funeral after the family claimed they needed the cash to host the event. She apologised and he later decided to forgive her.
But now, to add insult to injury, Mark said he handed over another $700 to help Larry take BJ to North Carolina start a new life, but has since found out he'd apparently kept the money and not taken her anywhere.
In a recent video update called Spring 2024, Mark chats to Larry's cousin, Jason Whittaker about the situation.
After Jason admits he's been in rehab and isn't even clean during the interview, Mark replies: "You're the only person who's honest with me in this family."
![Mark has been documenting the family since 2020](https://i2-prod.dailystar.co.uk/incoming/article32277329.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_8.jpg)
Mark says: "You know a little bit of what's been going on. You know BJ's lying to me, Betty was lying to me, Larry's lying to me and I called up Kenneth, the one person who's been honest with me I thought...
"After our last video, Larry calls me up and says: 'Hey, I'm going to take BJ to North Carolina,' and he wanted $700. I said 'as long as you're taking your daughter to North Carolina to get her away from your family then I can continue my relationship with you guys, but I don't want to be part of you guys if everyone's lying to me.'
"And Larry goes: 'Yeah, I'm gonna take her tonight.'"
Mark said he sent the money but has "ways of finding out what's going on with that family." He said he later found out that BJ never went anywhere and that Kenneth lied when he said she had gone.
![Mark Laita is the creator of Soft White Underbelly](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article27612548.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_Image.jpg)
Mark added: "Now I know that even Kenneth is lying to me, they are all lying to me so I'm done with them."
Jason replies: "I don't blame you."
Mark goes on to ask Jason what he thinks the future holds for the family adding: "I don't think BJ's never going to leave if there's a possible source of money, which they think there is, but I'm done with them."
Jason replies: "It doesn't look very good."
![He was made to believe Larry was dead](https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article32408147.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_Deliverance-inbred-family-make-beautiful-transformation-after-allowing-outsider-in.jpg)
Mark adds: "They were all getting money from the state before I even came into the picture.
"I don't know what to do with them other than just walk away."
Jason agrees: "That's the best thing to do, just wash your hands of them."
The Whittakers live together in a property in Odd in West Virginia, US. The family's inbreeding began when identical twin brothers Henry and John's children got married and went on to have their own children together.
Harry and wife Sally had seven children, including John Isom Whittaker, who was born in 1882. John then fell in love with his first cousin Ada Rigg and the couple had nine kids of their own, including their daughter Gracie Irene Whittaker in 1920.
Gracie went on to marry her double cousin – who she shares both sets of grandparents with – John Emory Whittaker, in 1935 and the pair went on to have 15 children, including Larry.
Many of the kids born of the union suffered severe disabilities as a result of the inbreeding.
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