Identical triplet brothers separated at birth in ‘cruel’ experiment only reunited after chance encounter

Identical triplets who were separated at birth ended up reunited on an off chance.

Brothers Robert Shafran, Edward Galland and David Kellman were born to a teenage mother in July 1961, and went on to be adopted by three different families.

For a study of nature versus nurture conducted by Dr Peter Neubauer, Robert, Edward and David were all adopted by families of different classes; with Dr Neubauer working with an adoption agency to ensure this.

David went to a working-class family, Edward to a middle-class home, and Bobby ended up being taken in by a upper-middle class family.

However, the agency later claimed that they separated the triplets as it was difficult to place all three boys in a single household.

Dr Neubauer visited the three boys every year for the first ten years of their lives to study them - without informing them that he was also visiting their two other identical brothers as well.

And the three brothers never learnt of each other's existence until a chance encounter in their teens.

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Despite living miles apart from one another, both Robert and Edward studied at Sullivan Community College.

A mutual friend of the pair was quick to spot the uncanny resemblance between them, and put the pieces together after learning that they were both adopted.

The two brothers made headlines across the States upon their reunion, which David went on to see.

Knowing he also looked just liked the two long-lost brothers, he called Edward's home and spoke to his mother, telling her he believed he was also related to Edward and Robert.

The triplets later discovered that their separation was part of an experiment, which is still sparking outrage decades on.

Their story gained more traction in 2018 following the release of the documentary, Three Identical Strangers.

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Discussing their story and the documentary on Reddit, one person recently wrote: "I’m a triplet myself and can’t even imagine the mess they were put through."

"The documentary is so good," another added. "It’s heartbreaking and disgusting but a very good watch."

Another person labelled the ordeal as 'horrific'.

All three of the boys went on to suffer with mental health issues in their lives, with both Edward and David having spent time in mental health hospitals.

Adding even more tragedy to their already sad story, Edward sadly took his own life at the age of 33 in 1995 after learning of the nature of his separation from his brothers.

Three Identical Strangers is currently streaming on Hulu.