Grady was born in Pittsburgh in 1937 and inherited his condition from his father, Grady Stiles, Sr. Grady could not walk and used a wheelchair in public, but could crawl around on his incredibly powerful arms and could perform nearly any task using his "claws". The only way out seemed to be his death. Teresa had said 'Something needs to be done.' The murder of Grady Stiles was the first story recounted in this episode. Wyant committed the murder, shooting Grady in the head while he watched television in his Florida home. of 79 and when questioned by police, he broke down after failing a lie detector test, spilling the beans. Just as a significant portion of his living family was being tried for his murder, Grady Stiless body was put to rest. She wasnt part of an act, just a staff member, but she fell in love with Stiles and the two married. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. He was sentenced to life in prison, while his mother was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Glen ironically was named the mastermind. At first, Stiles seemedto turn over a new leaf. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. He also allegedly used his strength to terrify and abuse his family. Because of this, Stiles performed under the stage name "Lobster Boy". He stopped drinkingand sought out his ex-wife, Mary. Along with key review factors, this compensation may impact how and where products appear across the site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Stiles son and daughter make sporadic appearances in the circus. The feet are also sometimes affected, as was the case with Grady. The "Lobster Boy" Stiles was born in 1937 with a deformity called ectrodactyly. A&E Network also made a City Confidential episode based on the case called "Gibsonton: The Last Side Show". According to Grady's father, the Stiles family had a long history of ectrodactyly, dating back to 1840. [1] Stiles married twice and had four children, two of whom also had ectrodactyly. Mary wanted Wyant to kill her husband, and Wyantaccepted the job. Abandoned Lifeboat on Bouvet Island: Mystery Solved! The government put 'em all out of business," he said. What the Greatest Showman Got Totally Wrong, The Bittersweet Story of Jumbo the Elephant, The Abusive 'Lobster Boy' Freak Performer Killed His Daughter's Fiance The Day Before Their Wedding, sentence was given as 15 years' probation, who claimed he was only trying to protect his mother. It was 1992 when Mary and her son Harry Glenn Newman Jr. approached a classmate with gang ties 17 year old Chris Wyant offering him $1500 to kill Grady, who was 55 years of age at the time. A daughter of Stiles who was born with no defects, 30-year-old Donna Miles, described how in 1978 her father asked to meet privately with a man she hoped to marry. In 1992, Mary decided she had enough of Gradys abuse. Since 1805, when Gradys ancestor William Stiles was born with the same affliction, the family continued to pass down the lobster claw condition from generation to generation. Grady Stiles Jr. hadn't changed one bit and the home, with several of their children, was desperately unhappy. After many beatings, he threw Mary and the children out. And to attain this aim, everyone tries their best by putting You have entered an incorrect email address! Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Stiles' likeness appears on the album cover for Silverchair's Freak Show. For more strange physical conditions, check out this list of unusual disorders. At that point, his father was already part of the freak show circuit, adding his kids with ectrodactyly to the act. "I think alcohol brought out the worst in him," his son, Grady Stiles III, said of his father in 2017. Who Did It? We Asked, You Answered: What Would You Pick For Your Last Meal On Death Row? Grady Franklin Stiles Jr. shortened in Grady Stiles was born on June 26, 1937, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who was perfectly fitted in their family circus for the strange deformity and later worked as an American freak show performer. Stiles and his two children toured together as The Lobster Family. The court realized they really had no counterargument, as it was true that the prisons were not well-equipped to deal with many disabilities, certainly not Stiles incredibly rare one. For more than a century, a peculiar physical condition known as ectrodactyly has afflicted the Stiles family. Stiles was instead sentenced to house arrest and fifteen years probation. As Healthline reported, he even inspired the character Jimmy Darling in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Interesting history topics are just a click away. Even though he was . He had 4 children, 1 boy and 1 girl had the same deformity that he had. Wyant was sentenced to 27 years in prison after being convicted of 2nd degree murder. Grady included them in his circus act and they all toured together as The Lobster Family. Grady kept up the family tradition by taking up circus life, beginning at the age of 7. However it began, on the eve of the wedding, Stiles picked up his shotgun and murdered his daughters fiance in cold blood. As Healthline reported, he even inspired the character Jimmy Darling in American Horror Story: Freak Show. Wyant was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years. It wasn't his claws that made Grady a monster. Grady's daughter, Donna, fell in love and wanted to marry a young man by the name of Jack Lane, but her father greatly opposed. He had cirrhosis of the liver and emphysema in addition to his ectrodactyly. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. You should read my stuff while youre here <3 Email: winifredakpobi@gmail.com, Couple Vanishes From Their Loft After Feud With Landlord, A Robbery at the Denver U.S. Mint That Was Never Solved, Woman Who Believed The Government Wanted Her Dead Goes Missing. The Stiles family had a long history of ectrodactyly, according to his father dating back to 1840. His wife had finally reached her breaking point. Jim has always had a strong passion for travel, archaeology, and history. I told him, You prefer the bottle to your family, she said. Stiles drank, and combined with his overpowering upper body strength, he became abusive toward his wife and children. "There are no freaks in carnivals anymore. He had a low IQand had become a part of the sideshow for his ability to drive nails into his nostrils. On HBO's Carnivle, set on a traveling carnival during the Great Depression, the central character, Ben Hawkins, is sent out by his employers to investigate rumors of a "Scorpion Boy" in a nearby town in the episode "Lonnigan, Texas". I believe that from the bottom of my heart. For a time, the Tampa Bay-area town of Gibsonton, Florida had a reputation for being a haven for so-called "freaks," the town in which circus performers would find comfort in their own seasonal community while taking the winter months off. For some unknown reason, Grady did not approve of his daughter Donna's fianc. He developed substantial upper body strength that, when combined with his bad temper and alcoholism, made him dangerous to others. Her work has been featured on The Rumpus, The Independent, Cosmopolitan, Medium, Seventeen, Romper, Bustle, and Quartz. Unfortunately, it's no surprise that he took it horribly when his daughter Donna approached him to announce her engagement in 1978. Stiles was convicted of third-degree murder in 1979. Teresa's son overheard this, and went to a neighbor and repeated those words. Stiles got remarried, this time toa woman named Barbara, and had another child with the lobster claw condition. The family has come a long way. Become a member today to see the image(s) below in full resolution color. Wyant was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years in prison. On the night of November 29, 1992, a hired assassin gunned down Grady. The rare congenital deformity makes hands look like lobster claws as the middle fingers are either missing or seemingly fused to the thumb and pinky. Investigators determined his daughter Cathy was aco-conspiratorbut shewas not charged. She was later freed on bond while she appeals her case. She is still puzzled that jurors didn't fully buy. Stiles's daughter had seen him commit the murder, and Stilesfreely confessed to killing the young man in cold blood. I heard a bang and then I heard another one, she testified, saying Stiles had shot her boyfriend. Fred Rosen wrote a book on the case called Lobster Boy: The Bizarre Life and Brutal Death of Grady Stiles Jr., and E! Within hours, she was rushed to a hospital and had an emergency Caesarean section, delivering a daughter with the same lobster claw deformities. ( 1973-01-06) A magician shows how magic the multiplication of 3 really is, including a family of 3 and a football team whose uniforms are numbered in threes. Throughout his childhood, Stiles and his family toured with the carnival circuit, spending the offseason in Gibsonton, Florida as many carnies did. So they let him off with 15 years probation and he returned home. Some in the carnival community confirm that he was an ill-tempered man and go so far as to compare him to Satan. Used to maneuvering himself in a wheelchair, Stiles developed a great deal of upper body strength. He feels fortunate to have been able to visit many of the ancient wonders that he read about in history books. The real Stiles was an abusive alcoholic who was convicted of murdering a man, and who himself died violently. Mrs. Stiles, 56, could get life behind bars if convicted. As sinister as that sounds, the family claims it was done to end the cruel reign of the 55-year-old, who they accused of being a mean and nasty . The young man stumbled out of the house and died. They married and had a son together who was given the same name as his father, although he was mentally impaired. But one son, Grady Stiles Jr., would give the Stiles family a different, morbid reputation when he became a serial abuser and murderer. For a period of time in the middle decades of the 20th Century, circus performer Grady Stiles was a star attraction. He shows himself first and then charges extra to bring her out. In addition, you'll gain access to detailed info on each performer and image in the collection. That became a problem once he started abusing alcohol andbegan to abuse his familyas well. Grady Stiles was a famous freak show performer, but his life took several dark turns and ended in cold blood. "Grady Stiles and his daughter ran a single-O with one carny where I had the side-show concession and they did better than I did with ten acts. Grady Stiles Jr. was the fourth child of Grady F. Stiles and had an extreme case of ectrodactyly; it impacted his legs as well. Stiles had been married twice, having a daughter and son whom both have electrodactyly. He and Jessa Olmstead had known each other for years, but the love affair has heated up in recent months, as they began working more closely together at one of America's premiere sideshows. If you were a member, you would see thousands of color images, detailed biographies and all sorts of fascinating information about each image. 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