Native strangers: a cruel experiment with twins and its sad consequences (11 photos)

Have you ever had a feeling of soul kinship with some stranger? Not romantic affection, not sympathy, but something more. It's like you've known each other for a long time. These guys' premonitions did not deceive them. And subsequently it ruined my life.





Geminis have attracted people's attention since ancient times. As well as their connection with each other, to study which sometimes they go to monstrous experiments.



Robert Shafran went to college and looked forward to adult life and new acquaintances. Imagine the guy’s surprise when the students began to greet him as if they were an old friend. But he saw these people for the first time in his life.

One of the new friends didn’t beat around the bush and asked if Robert had a twin brother. In response to a negative answer, he gave the phone number of his classmate, sophomore Edward Galland. Robert called him and was surprised to hear his own voice on the phone.





That evening the guys met at Edward's house. And they turned out to be so similar that there could simply be no mistake - the young men were twin brothers.

Of course, they turned out to be adopted. But the parents had no idea that their sons had twins who were separated as part of a cruel psychological experiment.



The story began back in 1961. A teenage girl became pregnant as a result of an accidental relationship and gave birth to triplets. She refused to have children. At this time, psychiatrist Peter Neubauer was looking for an adoption agency that could help him conduct an experiment. The doctor wanted to understand how society influences the development of twins, which traits they have are innate and which are acquired.

Several agencies categorically refused, considering it inhumane. But in the latter they agreed to separation. The boys ended up in families that lived close to each other, at a distance of no more than 150 kilometers. The adoptive parents knew nothing about the existence of twins in their sons. And the truth would not have been revealed if not for an accident.



The infants were sent to families with different levels of income and social status, subject to the constant work of the growing child with a psychologist. David Kellman ended up in the family of a vegetable merchant, Edward Galland ended up in a middle-class family, and Robert Shafran grew up with wealthy parents.

Tests with children were carried out once a quarter. When the boys got older, it happened more often. Remarkably, all three had behavior problems. David and Edward were treated in a psychiatric hospital, and Robert, despite his family's wealth, received a suspended sentence for his participation in the crime.

We are together



Still from the film Desperately Seeking Susan

When the truth was revealed, the brothers became stars. They even starred in an episode of the movie “Desperately Seeking Susan” with Madonna. The guys constantly wanted to be together, communicate, talk. People on the streets shook their necks when they saw a trio of exactly identical guys. The young men constantly found common interests and tastes and rejoiced at it.



Attempts to communicate with the adoption agency failed. The employees remained on the defensive and only claimed that they made the decision to separate due to the fact that no one would adopt three children at once - it was too difficult and expensive. Kellman's father almost attacked them with his fists, shouting that he would take all three of them so that the children could grow up together.



Consultations with lawyers regarding litigation ended in nothing. There was practically no chance of receiving compensation. Moreover, the condition for adoption was the signing of a document, according to which the parents agreed not to be interested in the child’s past. Including not finding out the presence of sisters and brothers.

Not all of Neubauer's research results are publicly available. Some information stored at Yale University will not be revealed until 2065.

Mixed results



For nowAt this moment, Robert and David remained alive. Edward suffered from mental illness and committed suicide as a result in 1995. Of all the brothers, he was the one who needed relatives more, since his relationship with his adoptive father did not work out. In recent years he lived next door to David. Their daughters are still friends.



A documentary film “Three Identical Strangers” (2018) was made about the brothers. Without Edward...

As for Robert and David, after the death of their brother they moved away from each other. More precisely, the beginning of the end was marked by Robert’s exit from the joint business (the triplets owned a restaurant). Robert works in the legal field, David is an insurance agent. For almost 30 years they saw each other only a few times. Perhaps age (men are already over 60) and wisdom will help them reconcile and forget about disagreements and grievances.