Horribly Abused Teenage Twins Could Inherit The Duke Tobacco Fortune
In "The Poorest Rich Kids In The World" in this week's Rolling Stone (not available online), Danielle Levitt tells the story of the twins, who are the great-niece and nephew of celebrity tobacco heiress Doris Duke. Their father, Walker Inman, inherited a portion of Doris' $1.3 billion fortune in 1993.
In interviews with Levitt, the twins claim they were bolt-locked into feces-strewn bedrooms and abused both physically and mentally by their father from the time they were two years old to 2010 when Walker died of a heroin overdose.
Their mother Daisha was forced out of the picture in 2000 after Walker allegedly kidnapped the 17-month-old twins and hired lawyers to prove Daisha was incompetent and mentally unstable. The twins were told by Walker that their absent mother was an alcoholic who gave them fetal alcohol syndrome and made them "retarded."
More shocking details from Rolling Stone:
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Walker and his fifth-wife Daralee caused $30,000 in damage to their 10,000-square-foot Afton, Wyoming home dubbed "Outlaw Acres." It was a drug den filled with antiques, priceless artwork, and stacks of gold coins.
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Even though Georgia and Patterson grew up with a pet lion cub (that died after Walker fed it too many hamburgers) and brought loose diamonds to school for show and tell, nannies and tutors all say the children were malnourished.
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Walker Inman loved to blow things up. He would chuck dynamite into ponds and call it "fishing," and had a trailer filled with explosives, artillery, and ammunition.
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One of Patterson's happiest childhood memories is when his father accidentally set off a tear gas grenade while trying to teach him and Georgia a lesson. The entire family had to run out of the house, and Patterson was crying from laughing while retelling the story to Levitt.
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One of Georgia's first memories is of startling abuse: "They. Stuck my brother and I. In hot boiling water in our bath. It felt like our skin was melting away"
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Once, a skunk wandered into the living room, and Walker mowed it down with a machine gun.
No matter how many times these incidents were witnessed by nannies and tutors and reported to authorities, no one intervened. The Department of Family Service came to the home a few times, but Walker had always been tipped off to hide his guns and drugs.
By the time Walker died and their mother received custody, the twins reportedly tried to shoot Daisha during a stand off with police after being told for years by their father and step-mother that she was "the enemy."
Doris's $1.3 billion fortune was left mainly to charity. The remaining $60 million going to the twins is still being haggled over by their stepmother Daralee, Walker's attorney, and their own mother Daisha.
You can read the full shocking and sickening story in the August 15th issue of Rolling Stone.