2023 Mysterious Facts | All Rights Reserved. While his sister was locked away in the bedroom and hit for crying, her older brother suffered intermittent beatings and was ordered by his father to be the family's sentry guard, to help hide the gruesome secret. Susan, the UCLA linguist that had become so dear to Genie, became her legal guardian for roughly a year until a competing researcher convinced a judge to give legal guardianship back to Dorothy in an effort to gain more access to Genie while restricting others. They were joined, Vera Jo Reigle, 24, was brutally murdered on March 26th, 2011. From the moment that Genie was rescued, she was examined. The scientists had a specimen that they could use to test the 1967 Lenneberg theory that claimed that children couldnt learn after puberty. Susan was quickly taken by child services to the Los Angeles Childrens Hospital. Genie appeared to be six or seven years old and possibly autistic. "I tried to put [Genie] out of my mind because of the shame," he said. The young man with no education and scars from a violent past eventually settled in a nondescript Ohio farming town, now hit hard by a slowed economy. There was no TV, no radio ever permitted in the house, and Irene and John suffered beatings if Clark felt they were being too loud. If Story via Huck Magazine IllustratorWeshoyot Alvitre grew up in Southern Californias Tongva homelands in the 80s and 90s. If she did have mental and developmental disabilities, like her father believed as an infant, the impact of his cruelty would be a less prominent factor in her delays. Required fields are marked *. John last saw his sister in 1982, and his mother died in 2003. Mr. Clark was born in Deland, February 13,. Because she was not developing as quickly as her father believed she should be, he determined that she was mentally handicapped. I feel at times God failed me. A war wagered on between scientists and doctors all engulfed in a campaign for control over Genie, accusing each other of exploitation. In an evaluation of Genie's case by medical researchers, logs in the Special Collection library at UCLA noted that John had been "written off" early in the child abuse investigation. Her ability to speak was limited further. Big wood. She was given the name to protect her identity once she became a spectacle of scientific research and awe. Oglesby was a Dust Bowl refugee who had drifted to the Los Angeles area where she met her husband. her previous rehabilitation doctors (who ultimately got her placed with Dorothy Her assessment revealed that she had the cognitive ability of a one-year-old. In 1970, when Genie Wiley was 13 years old, Dorothy took her daughter to her parents house after a vicious argument with her husband. Big wood. Hawthorne - Mr. Wiley Richard Clark, age 72, of Hawthorne passed away from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident Sunday, June 22, 2014. Her intensely abusive father and helpless mother so neglected Wiley that she hadnt learned to speak and her growth was so stunted that she looked like she was no more than eight years old. Father hit big stick. He locked Genie in a lifeless basement, and when he came to feed her, he beat her every time she made a noise. She applied for the foster care of Wiley as well. He later recalled visiting Susan Wiley on her 27th birthday and seeing: A large, bumbling woman with a facial expression of cowlike incomprehension her eyes focus poorly on the cake. Like so many people with special needs, she fell through the cracks of proper care. I long to see her. One of the notes, for his son, John, said, Be a good boy, I love you. The other, for police, said, The world will never understand. [1]. The story of Genie Wiley the Feral Child sounds like the stuff of fairytales: An unwanted, mistreated child survives brutal imprisonment at the hands of a savage ogre and is rediscovered and reintroduced to the world in an impossibly youthful state. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this sites author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Genie was the last, and second surviving, of four children of parents living in Arcadia, California, and was born in 1957 without any noted complications at a normal weight and size; the following day she showed signs of Rh incompatibility and required a blood transfusion, but had no sequelae and was otherwise described as healthy. Much as Genie's experience hinted at the future awaiting the long-imprisoned Austrian children, John's story is a reminder that abuse has tentacles that reach deep into families and rarely leads to happy endings. After the death, he shunned everything to do with Genie and his family, but he can never completely forget it. again), enforced strict rules and forbid anyone, including Susan, from having His daughter, now 25, lives nearby, but he said she has her own emotional problems, and he doesn't see much of his two young grandchildren. Genie was assigned to physician James Kent, Kent initially observed no reactions from Genie but eventually drew a small amount of nonverbal and verbal responsiveness with a small puppet, and soon playing with the puppet became Genies favorite hobby. "[John] was as much a victim of the family dynamics as the younger sister was," said retired detective Frank Linley, who arrested Clark and Irene Wiley for child abuse in 1970. When Clark J. Wiley was born on 7 June 1848, in Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, his father, John Wiley, was 38 and his mother, Mary Kampton, was 36. An older brother, John, also lived in the home. But he was so little a part of the direction of the case. A mother, suffering from cataracts, walked into a Los Angeles County welfare office by mistake. Clark, in a move of extreme cowardice, killed himself before his trial. Genie spent the next phase of her life in foster homes. In 1970, she stumbled into social services, mistaking it for the office where theyd give aid to the blind. Butler was obsessed with Genie and had expressed to her colleagues her desire to be compared to Helen Kellers renowned teacher, Anne Sullivan. Other studies show that, in cases like the Wileys', "attachment is completely clobbered," he said. Many parts of her brain had not developed nor would they ever be able to. 3:30 - 3:32 - For their whole marriage, She also saw that Genie Wiley was beginning puberty at this time, a sign that her health was strengthening. Clark would spoon-feed Genie, sometimes rubbing her face in the food. The tremendous rift complicated my reporting, Rymer said. Her brother, who ran away from home at the age of eighteen, died in 2011 due to diabetic complications. Their third child, a boy named John Gray, born 5 years before Genie, also suffered abuse at the hands of Clark. Others argue that the case supports the critical-period hypothesis, which argues that we can tap into our innate ability to acquire language, but only during a specific period of development. This is partially due to the custody battles and ethical questions that went on throughout Genies later teenage years. He hated the noise and stress they brought along. Father take piece wood hit. She learned some language after puberty. Susan Curtiss, a UCLA linguistics professor, helps Genie the Feral Child to find her voice. Genies gross motor skills(abilities acquired during childhood as a part of the childs learning) were extremely weak; she could neither stand up straight nor fully straighten any of her limbs, she had very little endurance. The Tragic Case of Genie the Feral Child The case of Genie the feral child came to public attention in 1970 on November 4 by accident. But also for those four years, Wileys case tested the ethics of a relationship between a subject and their researcher. When she was turned over to authorities at 13 years old, she could not chew or swallow and constantly drooled and spat. The movie Mockingbird Dont Sing is based on the Genie Wiley story. "I think I trusted the wrong people.". The couple had another son, John, in 1952. When authorities went to Wileys house to look for child abuse, they discovered that Genie was completely neglected. Later, Butler was accused by other members of the team of exploiting Wiley. For one thing, each of the scientists on the team accused each other of abusing their position and relationships with Genie the feral child. She was attached with a chair in a makeshift straitjacket for 13 years. And every time we came in and I know this was so with others, as well He would slide open the little window and hand her something that wasnt wrapped, a bone of some sort, some meat, fish, whatever. Again, Genie went back to different foster families for several years, but none of them could deal with her outbursts and lack of communication. Genies father, Clark Wiley, never wanted to have children, but after marrying Irene Oglesby, the children came and died. Speaking in hushed, often expressionless tones, he detailed a life spent struggling through alcohol abuse, divorce and estrangement from his own daughter. In one hand, a walking stick to guide her through the city. "They didn't give me the tools, the knowledge about accomplishment and setting goals and the Bible and God," he said. Only two of those children survived past infancy. She had been a victim of severe abuse, neglect, and isolation since her birth. When Genie Wiley and her mother mistakenly walked into a Los Angeles County welfare office, the childs appearance petrified everyone present. All charges against Genie's mother were dropped after she cited that the abuse she suffered from Clark prevented her from being able to care for Genie. As a result, he became fearless and continued abusing his family. Their first child, Dorothy, was born on August 19, 1948. When the baby cried, he found it upsetting and placed it in the garage. However, John toldABC Newsthat he still retains optimism: They didnt give me the tools, the knowledge about accomplishment and setting goals and the Bible and God. And then there were the outliers, like Jean Butler, a rehabilitation teacher who saw in Genie an opportunity to gain fame. She lived this way, under John's nose, with no exposure to the outside world, for nearly 11 years. Genie Wileys present life is little-known; once her mother took custody, she refused to let her daughter be the subject of any more studies. At night, Genie was confined to a crib, bound by wires. Wikimedia CommonsGenie Wiley was returned to foster care after the research on her ended. She was, consequently, unable to take care of Johns two granddaughters. She was the fourth child born to Dorothy and Clark Wiley. Three weeks later, Genies mother attempted to apply for disability benefits. PracticalPie.com is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program. However, some saw Genie as more than a science experiment as a human being in need of love and care. All rights reserved Bugged Space 2019-2022, Genie Was Physically and Emotionally Abused, Clark and Irenes Daughter Was Killed By Neglect, 14-Year-Old Mary Crocker was Kept In Dog Pen, Beaten, Starved to Death by Her Family, Later Found Buried In Family Backyard, Tanzanian Miner Who Became Overnight Millionaire Finds Another Rare Stone Worth $2 Million. Father is angry. Her father, Clark grew up in foster homes and orphanages in his native Pacific Northwest, Irene who is Genie's mother, grew up in Altus, Oklahoma. Her battle with dementia explained, How did Dr. Charles Stanley die? She could not previously chew and swallow solid food and would instead hold the mush her parents fed her in her mouth until saliva broke it down. Genie was born with Rh incompatibility disorder. He continued to threaten his wife, and only allowed his son to leave the house to go to school. To this day, one researcher has repeatedly tried to make contact with her. When Clark left the house the next day, Irene left with Genie to visit her parents in Monterey Park. Genie started to attend nursery school, further broadening her vocabulary. Much of what is known about what was going on in the house came from Clarks journals during this time. At 18, she moved back in with her mother. He has spent most of the rest of his life estranged from his family, with little support to heal the scars of his childhood. The college is one of 11 historically black United Methodist-related institutions of higher education and is financially supported by the denomination's Black College Fund. The window was covered with aluminum foil to reflect out the sunlight. A member of the Blast Beat Network. Clark believed that his daughter was mentally disabled. By the time Genie's plight was discovered by police, John, then 18, had run away from home, terrified of a father who was increasingly angry and violent. Their temporary situation turned more permanent. On November 4, 1970, Dorothy Wiley, the nearly blind wife of Clark Wiley, walked into what she thought was the Blind Services Office in Temple City, California. Her case also shows that issues of ethics and great debates in psychology are more blurry than they appear on paper. I have forgiven, but I cant forget,he said. All we know, Was Craig Breen married? Father make me cry. Perhaps one of the most frightening side effects of Genies The girl, who weighed less than 60 pounds, walked with an unusual gait caused by years of confinement. Jay Shurley, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science Arriving at the Wiley's home, arresting officer Linley said the conditions he found at the house were appalling. Clark Wiley never wanted children. When Irene realized she couldnt care for Genie anymore, she quickly returned her to foster care, Irene she died in 2003. Genies father hated the sound (crying, screaming) of his daughter. Father. John's life was spared by the hit-and-run driver in 1958, but the event condemned him back to the home of abusive parents a nearly blind, mentally ill mother and tyrannical father, who in 1970 would be charged in one of the most horrific cases of child abuse in modern history. 2. The Wileys' case has striking similarities to the horror unfolding in Austria, where a Nazi-like father locked his daughter in a sunless basement for 24 years, and she bore him seven children through incest, three of whom were forced to live with her in the underground enclosure before being freed late last month. Abandoned, Abused, Exploited: Inside The Tragic Life Of The Feral Child, Genie Wiley. Genies parents were arrested after the social service office contacted the police, and Genie became a ward of the court. She could create all sorts of complex structures from sticks. Clark Gray Wiley: Also Known As: "Pearl Wiley" Birthdate: March 29, 1901: Birthplace: Oregon, United States: Death: November 20, 1970 (69) Residence, 6722 North Golden West Avenue, Temple City, Los Angeles County, California, United States (Just moments before his scheduled arraignment, with his wife Dorothy, on Felony Child Abuse charges, Clark Wiley shot himself in the head on 20 Nov 1970 . The charges against Dorothy were dropped, as she was considered a victim of Clarks abuse as well. Father angry. An emergency home search was conducted on the Wiley household which resulted in one of the most disturbing and compelling child abuse cases the medical world has ever known. Wiley remained an expert in non-verbal communication and had a way of expressing her thoughts to people even if she couldnt speak to them. In 1979, her mother filed a lawsuit against the hospital and her daughters individual caregivers, including the scientists on the Genie Team, alleging they exploited Wiley for prestige and profit. The suit was settled in 1984 and Wileys contact with her researchers all but entirely severed. Genie had so my losses, and here she was losing the one person who had remained in her life ever since I met her,Susan toldABC News. At 4 years old, Dorothys mother took John for several months. "He would write me a note excusing me from gym so the kids didn't see my privates in the showers.". The case comes back to haunt me.. He mostly fed her baby food, occasional soft-boiled eggs, cereal, and liquids. They never let me have any contact with her. Hit face spit. Wiley. To language scientists, Wiley was a blank slate, a way to understand what part language has in our development and vice versa. Many questions, including that of whether she really had a mental disability like her father suggested, have gone unanswered. The first foster home that Genie had was the home of her special education teacher, Jean Butler. But Genie the Feral Child disproved this. This is when the abuse intensified for Genie and her isolation began. Clark was particularly sensitive to noise. Think nature, rather than nurture. She regressed in these environments and never regained speech. It depends on who you ask. She had a growing list of words under her belt and could communicate through basic sign language. The part of her brain that could process words into language with grammar and other linguistic structure had never been stimulated, and thus she was condemned to a very infantilized communication system. A title that would perfectly encapsulate what her life was to become. Father take piece wood hit. They child developed pneumonia and died at just 10 weeks old. She resembled a little white rabbit frail, small, with a strange hop to her step, pale, her arms and hands curled up into her chest and a timid look in her eye. Genie is far from the only case of recent feral children, but is one of the most infamous. Clark was swiftly arrested on charges of child abuse. To keep her quiet, he bared his teeth, barked and growled at her like a wild dog, and scratched her with his fingernails. Father. It would be determined later that Genie could not focus on objects more than 10 feet away from her. They seem to only exist in stories, like The Jungle Book or Tarzan. stooped and seldom made eye contact. She was smart, Curtiss said. When the researchers did try to reach out or find Genie, they were often disappointed to hear that she was not making the progress that she had been making as a teenager. Her large eyes were poorly focused on her Hitler could have taken lessons from him.". There Wiley was beaten for vomiting and regressed greatly. Clark would sit in the living room with his shotgun on his lap, sometimes falling asleep in front of the front door with said shotgun. And they just passed, Rigler remembered. She was kept isolated and confined by her father for most of her childhood, which stunted her language and social development. He was abusive to his wife and son when they engaged with her as well. Shortly afterward, the half-blind private Pierre Cruzatte mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him in the thigh. He left behind a note which read: The world will never understand., Wiley became a ward of the state. Genies story is one of mental health, forbidden experiments, and the failures of society to protect people who have been left behind. When the home search was conducted later, what they revealed would permanently scar those involved in Genies rescue. For those four years, Wiley became the center of these scientists lives. Her research brought her to excavate at various Classic Maya sites in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico. Wileys case soon enchanted scientists and physicians who applied for and were rewarded a grant by the National Institute of Mental Health to study her. Father make me cry.. Thats a tough question, said Curtiss. Genie became infamous not only because her case was one of the most horrific incidents of child abuse in modern history, but also because her situation was known to psychologists as a forbidden experiment. At the time that Genie was rescued from her parents, Noam Chomskys theory of innateness was popular in the linguistic psychology world.