|
|
|
home - people - sideshow anomalies - grady stiles |
|
|
 Grady Franklin Stiles, Jr., born in Pittsburgh on July 18, 1937, suffered from ectrodactyly, a condition where the fingers and toes are fused together to form a crab-claw like appendage. Ectrodactyly literally means "monstrous fingers" and is generally a highly hereditary condition, as evidenced by the Stiles family, although it can occur spontaneously. Grady’s family had a long history of the condition. His father was a sideshow attraction and shortly after Grady was born, added him to the show when he was six years old and booking him as “The Lobster Boy”. Grady was married twice and had four children, two of whom were also born with ectrodactyly. The Stiles family lived in Gibsonton, Florida when not travelling (strangely, many other carnival performers also lived in Gibsonton during the winter season).
Grady could not walk and thus was confined to a wheelchair. He used his arms for movement and hence, was incredibly strong. Grady was also an alcoholic and abused his family – wife and children. His wife Mary told stories of Grady putting a butcher knife to her neck and threatening to kill her and the entire family. She also claimed he beat and sexually abused her.
In 1978, Stiles shot and killed his oldest daughter’s fiancé on the eve of their wedding. He was tried and convicted of the murder but since no state institution was capable of handling a prisoner with his condition, he was given 15 years probation instead.
 After skirting a murder sentence, Grady became even more abusive to his family. After several years of abuse, his wife decided to act. In 1992, his second wife, Maria, and her son-in-law Harry Newman, hired a 19-year-old sideshow performer (who was also a neighbor in Gibsonton) named Chris Wyant to kill Stiles for $1500. Late at night, Wyant rapped on the trailer window as a warning to Grady’s wife and kids so they could leave before the murder took place. Stiles was shot three times in the head on November 29, 1992 while watching TV in his mobile home. He was 55 years old. All three were brought to trial and convicted with Mary receiving 12 years in prison and Wyant receiving a 27 years. Newman, who actually hired the hitman, received a life sentence.
Grady is buried is Showman Rest Cemetery in Tampa, Florida.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles
|
Schlitzie the Pinhead
Minnie Woolsey - Koo Koo the Bird Girl
Prince Randian (The Human Torso or Human Caterpillar)
Lady Olga - the Bearded Lady
|
|
|
|
|
|
discuss
|
email
article
|
print
article
|
|
|
Article rating [Avg: 0 from 1 votes]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Follow AD!
|
Follow us on Facebook!
Get up-to-date paranormal and other strange news by following AD on Twitter!
|
|
AD Mobile!
|
|
The Altered Dimensions Paranormal Mobile application is now available on the Android Market. The AD mobile application is an extension to the Altered Dimensions website giving you quick access to the top paranormal stories and news items of the day. Coming soon: paranormal alerts, GPS tracking, and incident reporting.
|
|
Submit an Article?
|
|
Have an interesting article you would like to publish? Send the full text of the article, including references and your personal
conatact information. We will review the article and post online with full credit given to you.
Please share your knowledge!
|
|
Become a Member!
|
|
Become an Altered Dimensions member and receive exclusive access to our online forums, unique content, and up-to-date paranormal news and event notifications. Registration is free and only requires creation of your member account. Click here to register
|
|
UFOs!
|
|
One of the more popular areas of this site. The
UFO section contains a collection of UFO related articles categorized for
easy selection.
|
|
Athens Mental Health Center - Haunted!
|
|
Beatings, tortures and other atrocities occurred within the walls of the Athens
Mental Hospital. Check out our new report
on this infamous haunted campus...
|
|
Aurora Texas UFO Crash
|
|
Did an alien craft crash in Aurora Texas in the 1800's? Was an alien body
recovered and buried in the local cemetery? Read the
Aurora Texas Airship Crash article for an interesting take on a 100 year
old mystery.
|
|
Zero Point Energy Device Invented?
|
|
New article on the amazing device created
by a 58-year old Irish inventor. Hoax in the making or the greatest discovery
since the invention of the wheel?
|
|
EVP
|
|
EVP, or Electronic Voice Phenomena, is the new rage.
Using equipment you can purchase at your local Radio Shack, you can record voices
from the dead.
|
|
Visit these sites
|
|
Don’t forget to visit Mortal Journey, an interesting excursion into the trends and fads that shaped our
world and Funny Grins, a huge collection of jokes, funny videos, weird Facebook posts, hilarious videos,
crazy billboards, funny graffiti, and blah, blah, blah…
|
|
|
|
|
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I
may tread safely into the unknown.' - M. Louise Haskings 1875-1957
|
|