Robert Shafran a nineteen-year-old boy had many beautiful dreams in his eyes when he entered his college for the first time though he had no idea that the reality was going to be wholly different. When he stepped into his college for the first time everyone behaved as if they knew him from years. It was weird for him as he did not know any of them. However, when he investigated the matter, he learned some unbelievable facts about his own existence. And during the same investigation, he busted the biggest illegal racket transpiring in America.
Like every other teenager, Robert had many dreams in his eyes. The nineteen-year-old boy just had completed a milestone of his life by finishing his school. And took on another when he enrolled himself in a college. He had high hopes from his new life. He began shopping with his friends before the opening of the college and had even decided what was he going to wear on his first day. He knew his first day was going to be very special.
The boy had gotten admission in Sullivan County Community college. No doubt, Robert was infused with nervousness and excitement both. The level of both rose to its highest on the first day of the college. Though he had been waiting for this day from a very long time, Robert got gripped with nervousness when the day arrived. However, he entered the college keeping all his hesitation and nervousness at bay.
It was a new world for him encompassing new place and new faces. He looked at everything with utter amazement and wondered how much college life is different from school life. He remained lost in his thoughts till a voice from behind hit his ear. He turned back and saw an unidentified man coming towards him. The boy hugged him and asked him how he was. Now, it went over his head. He stared at the boy for a minute and tried to recognize him but he could not. He was sure he did not know him but the boy was reacting in a very friendly way as if he knew him. Not being able to draw any rational conclusion, the boy took it as an extra friendly nature of the college students. Surprisingly, it was not only that boy but many students treated him as if they knew him. What was going on?
How come an entire college was behaving in a similar way? It wasn't one or two people who were doing this but the whole of college was behaving in this strange way. Something was seriously wrong. Initially, he suspected it to be a prank but soon had to rule out this assumption as to why would the entire college come together to pull a prank on him? It didn't make any sense.
One thing that confused him further was this “Eddy” name. He noticed that his collegemates were calling him with the name of “Eddy” while approaching. In fact, there were even some girls who kissed him while giving greetings. The other fellow collegemates showed their happiness on seeing him back. The name "Eddy" had thickened the mystery. While each and everyone in the college was calling him "Eddy" surprisingly, he had never heard this name before. He assumed perhaps he resembles someone named "Eddy," and maybe that's why people are mistaking him for that. But what he could not understand was how one can look so similar to someone that no one was able to differentiate between them. Well, he was soon going to get the answer to this question.
He had been on the campus only for an hour and had heard "Eddy" thousands of times. He headed towards the dorm room he was allotted while pondering over the strange developments. Who was this Eddy? Why everyone was calling him by this name? In no time he reached his dorm.
As he opened the door, he saw his roommate in the room. He approached him with a smile but his roommate had his eyes fixated on him with a surprised expression. Michael Domitz, his roommate revealed to him that he looks exactly like his ex-roommate Eddy Galland. So Robert had a doppelganger? It was just the tip of the iceberg. What astounded Eddy more was another revelation that his new roommate made.
The information whetted Robert's curiosity. This name had been haunting him since he stepped into the college. He asked Michael more and more about the person named Eddy until his roommate told him something very surprising about his doppelganger. Eddy shared his birthday with Robert. Well, the revelation triggered more question than it answered. He had to meet his doppelganger to get all those questions answered.
Finally arrived the moment when Robert confronted Eddy. Well, they would count the moment one of the weirdest in their life. It seemed as if they were looking in a mirror. Everything looked exact same from their hair, color to facial features. Now Robert understood why everyone called him Eddy in the college. It was difficult for them too to see any difference. As far as Eddy is concerned he was yet to come out of the surprise he just had received.
While chatting they realized they have a lot of things in common. They had surprisingly same mannerism, facial expression, wall, and even same laugh. Despite the fact that they were so similar to each other, they had never seen each other before. How is it possible that two people who had no idea about each other's existence had so much in common. Was it just a coincidence or there was something really big working behind it? They decided to find out and before they could make their first step another amazing revelation came their way.
Well, the amazing information was that the two not only had their birthdays on the same day they were born in the same place too. They even had the same IQ level and surprisingly a birthmark at the same place. The revelations were still coming in and each of them was more surprising than the previous one. While talking they learned another incredible fact.
So, what blew their mind away was the fact that both of them were adopted. The piece of information prompted them to take an unusual step. They turned to seek medical help in order to find out the truth. They opted for DNA test. As DNA testing was not very much popular or trustworthy at that time, the decision was subjected to skepticism by many people. However, the duo had their full faith in it. After days of wait, the result came out and that shook them from within.
The result confirmed that the two were long-lost brothers. Well, this amazing news spread throughout the nation. The amazing story of these brothers made into the press and astounded everyone who heard about them. Well, the brothers were still unknown to the twist that was coming in their story very soon. As of now, the duo was ruling the front space of leading dailies that made their life story reach every corner of the world. One of the people who heard about their story was David. The man had another twist to add to this already startling story.
David Kellman announced that his looks are quite similar to that of twins and that he shares his birthday with them. Press quickly grabbed this news and ran it again and again. In order to prove his claim he too underwent a DNA test. So what do you think the result stated? Well, the result upheld his claims. He indeed was their brother that made them identical triplets.
Now it was confirmed that they were identical triplets. However, their investigation did not end there, in fact, they had to find out the answers to some important questions. For instance, if they were born on the same day at the same place and at the same time then how did they get separated? Who was responsible for their separation and why were they never told about the existence of each other?
In no time, triplets became the hot topic of the town. The spotlight had turned on them and they became the new subject of discussion for the public. The world of news media was after them. No doubt, their story was selling like a hot cake. Famous anchors such as Tom Brokaw and Phil Donahue interviewed them.
The trio had connected with each other in no time. They got along so well that it was difficult to tell that they were strangers just a few days ago. Robert explained, “Once we got together, there was a joy that I had never experienced in my life and it lasted a really long time.” All of them were amazed at the similarities they shared with each other. All of them loved smoking cigarettes, eating Italian food. And what more was that all three of them liked dating older women.
That time was what could be said the best time of their lives. They had each other and attention and love pouring in from every corner of the world. Robert, Eddy, and David were spending as much time together as possible. It took them 19 years to get to know about each other and as now they were together, they wanted to make most of it. Though they reunited they still wanted to know why they got separated in the first place? A bitter truth was awaiting them.
The brothers opened a restaurant together and christened it Triplet’s Old New York Steak House. Owing to the popularity of brothers, the success of this business was highly anticipated. And as expected, the Manhattan-based restaurant became a big success in its first year only. Many of the customers were those who used to visit the food place only to catch a glimpse of these amazing brothers.
The brothers were doing great in their professional and personal life both. But still, they were not content. They wanted to know more about their mysterious past. So, they kickstarted their journey to truth not knowing their discovery was about to leave an impact on the entire country. Little did they know that the mission that they had undertaken was going to throw lots of thundering truth on their face. One of them was this.......
The triplets discovered that they were not identical triplets but a rare set of identical quadruplets when they were born. But they lost their fourth brother to death just after their birth. It is important to mention here that if the fourth one had been living, the quadruplets would have been considered rare.
Well, they are not the only people who got separated in their childhood, unfortunately, the cases of this sort are in abundance. Whereas some manage to find each other there are some who lives their entire life without knowing that they have triplets or twins. Twins named Adriana Scott and Tamara Rabi met the same fate and would have been living their lives in ignorance of this unbelievable truth if it was not for their mutual friend. Their common friend noticed glaring similarities they shared with each other.
The brothers knew where to go to get their investigation started. All they knew was that they had taken birth in Long Island Jewish Medical Center and thereafter were given to Louise Wise Services, a highly dignified adoption agency. And it was from here these kids got adopted by their current parents. The institution was mainly built for Jewish kids. It was in 1980, triplets' six adoptive parents once again stepped into the institution but this time to seek answers of questions.
This adoption service agency came into existence in 1916. The agency that is an East coast adoption center was primarily formed to help Jewish mothers and adopters. But instead of getting lauded for its work, the center has many allegations slapped against it. There was a general belief that the adoption center was operating a Staten Island home sheltering single mothers who used to trade their unborn kid to the adopters for money. The charges did not end there.
The agency was accused of not putting the important details regarding the health of the to- be- adopted kid or his/her birth family in front of the adoptive parents. But these allegations never got proved and so they all remained baseless. Did the same thing happen with Robert, Eddy, and David?
Robert, Eddy, and David with their parents confronted the adoption agency with all their queries. The center that was not prepared for this confrontation tried to pacify the triplets by stating that they did it only to do away with the sibling rivalry that kids usually do in order to gain the attention of adoptive parents. However, it did not make sense to the triplets. In fact, the trepidation of agency to justify their act made them grow even more suspicious of the institution. What were they going to do now?
Confronting agency was a futile attempt. They walked out of the building even more confused and curious. There was no breakthrough. The agency clearly had refused to help him. One of the parents of the triplets had forgotten his umbrella in the office. When he returned to the office to fetch his umbrella he saw an unexpected sight there.
The staff members were celebrating something. One of them popped open the bottle of champagne and the rest were laughing. It seemed “as if they’d dodged a bullet.” The sight indeed solidified his doubt. He sprinted towards the triplets to tell them. It was a big lead. They knew there was something really wrong and they were determined to unravel every layer of it.
Well, the information came along with lots of questions for the triplets. What the staff was celebrating and why right after their exit? They were already not convinced with their lame reasons and now this celebration added fuel to the fire. After perceiving the behavior of the institution the triplets too began to believe in rumors that were doing rounds for years. So was the agency alone or there was someone else hand in glove with it.
So what their adoptive parents told them? On being asked they told them that a large part of information regarding their family and health had been kept from them. Not only that, but they were also told that the kids were subject to a child development study and for that reason, the researchers used to visit their kid regularly for a decade. They would come to the home to take their behavioral and aptitude tests. They also revealed that they had separation anxiety in their infancy. However, they did not pay it much heed as they thought it to be a result of a change of environment.
What clicked their mind was the fact that all three of them came from a different socioeconomic background. Robert hailed from an affluent family. His father was a doctor on the other side, Eddie belonged to a middle-class family. David got adopted in a working-class family. His adoptive father owned a store.
Normally, the selection of adoptive parents for twins or triplets are done randomly regardless of their socioeconomic background. But here it seemed the family was selected purposefully by the agency. So all the things were planned but why?
They got the answer to their question from a journalist named Lawrence Wright who had been following the case closely. He stated that the triplets were involved in a study that centered around the question if a person's development is shaped by its life experience or DNA. Unfortunately, it was not only these twins who had been made the guinea pig but five more sets of twins too.
In order to achieve the accurate result, it was necessary for the conductor to have control on as many variables as possible. Besides, other things have to be common between them. Although the triplets were sent off to families with the different socioeconomic background they all had a sister two years older than them. That wasn't coincident, that was planned.
In its earlier stage the "nature vs. nurture experiments" processed many interviews and assessments done many years after the twins or triplets moves away from each other. However, here the interviews and assessments remained constant from their birth to the time they got matured.
So who was the mastermind behind this? It was Dr. Peter Neubauer, a child psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst by profession. During those times, he was placed as Manhattan's director of the Child Development Center. Neubauer belonged to Austria and was a World War Two refuge. Not only that his way of conducting the processing the study had stark similarity with experiments conducted during World War II in the mid-1940s.
To many of us, the separation anxiety thing doesn't seem real. But the triplets or twins does go through this if they get separated. And there have been many research on the subject that have confirmed the existence of separation anxiety. Eddy, Robert, and David though got separated after their birth, they stayed together for nine months in the womb.
Claire Kellman, the adoptive mother of David Kellman had seen her son going through separation anxiety in his childhood. Claire explained, “David began talking very early. I remember him waking up and saying, ‘I have a brother.’ “We would all talk about his ‘imaginary brother.’ The anxiety was not felt by David alone, the other two underwent through the same feeling in their childhood.
Separation anxiety may end in childhood but its effects can remain for a long time in one's life. A person with separation anxiety gives away many symptoms including, familial discord, sense of independence, social isolation, academic failure, lacking the ability to develop and maintain relationships, development of symptoms of other mental health conditions, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Well for some twins, the separation anxiety goes away within a few hours of separation and for some, the anxiety lasts for many years. Some feel the anxiety after getting separated by even an hour. Just imagine how difficult would it be for Eddy, Robert, and David who stayed apart for almost twenty years.
Now, the mystery was resolved and the three were leading a good life until Robert Shafran got nabbed for having a hand in a robbery that involved the murder of an old woman. But the court let go Robert with a sentence of doing community service. According to the court, Robert had a minimal role in the crime.
Other heartbreaking event occurred when Eddie Galland killed himself in his home in Maplewood, New Jersey. The unfortunate incident occurred in 1995. Galland was only 33 years old when he bid goodbye to the world leaving his wife and daughter behind. The reason propelling Eddie to commit suicide is still a mystery. However, his brothers believed separation anxiety to be the possible reason.
Child Development Center was supervising this immoral study. The center, later on, merged with the Jewish Board. Robert and David are claiming an apology and monetary compensation from the agency.
Triplets had their story reached every nook and cranny of the world through a movie named Three Identical Strangers. The documentary was filmed for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie directed by Tim Wardle begins from the first day of Robert in the college in 1980.
The documentary was a success. It earned amazing reviews from all around the world. The documentary was a great help in raising awareness among the common people. Not only that the movie helped a great deal in putting pressure on the agency.
Along with the monetary compensation and apology, the brothers want them to change their working style. Shafran revealed to the Washington Post in an interview, “I think the first thing [the Jewish Board] should have done once they became aware of this movie is reunite any twins still surviving and advise those who’ve been deceased, just so they can know who they are.”
The triplets managed to see each other when the chances were so thin. Yeah, it took them years to know about each other but despite the slimy probability, they succeeded. Not all separated twins or triplets are bestowed upon with this opportunity.
One thing was sure Dr. Peter Neubauer had no mercy for his subjects. Segal who met him once explained, “What struck me most was he showed absolutely no remorse for what he had done. He still felt he had done the right thing.” However, his study confirmed, “genes have a more pervasive influence than we thought” as the study showed, “ended up being extremely alike.”
Jewish Board disowns the brutal experiment conducted by Dr. Peter Neubauer by conveying the message through their spokeswoman. She says, “The Jewish Board does not endorse the study undertaken by Dr. Peter Neubauer, and is appreciative that the film has created an opportunity for a public discourse about it. We hope that the film encourages others to come forward and request access to their records. The Jewish Board had no role in the separation of twins adopted through Louise Wise.”
As of now, Robert is undergoing the training of a lawyer. David is working as an insurance consultant. Along with that, Robert and David are also working to promote Three Identical Strangers the movie based on their life.