Shocking experiment saw triplets separated at birth - but they eventually discovered the horrendous truth

It was a shocking experiment carried out by an adoption agency in conjunction with a university professor.

Male triplets were separated at birth in 1961 and handed to different families to allow a psychiatrist to study how their upbringing affected them.

At every stage in their development, from learning to talk to riding a bike, they were monitored as part of the secret study.

Their adopted families were never told - though one mysteriously told his mother as a toddler: “I have a brother’, reports The Mirror.

But eventually, the shocking experiment was uncovered, when the separated siblings found each other by chance.

One of the brothers, Robert Shafran, was told by his university friends he was ‘the double’ of a former student called Edward Galland.

Not only that, it was discovered the pair had the same birthday - and had both been adopted.

The pair were introduced – and realised they were twins.

Not only did they talk and laugh the same way, but they had similar genius IQs and the same birthmarks.

They were both good at wrestling and even lost their virginity around the same time.

But when their story was covered by a local paper, more sinister truths were revealed. 

A man called David Kellman saw the article - and noticed how identical he was to the pair.

The three realised they were triplets who had been separated without them, or their adopted families, being told.

Their Jewish adoption agency, Louise Wise Services, couldn’t answer their questions.

Eventually, it emerged the agency been told by a psychiatrist to separate twins and triplets so they didn’t have to compete for attention, while another psychiatrist, university professor Peter Neubaurr decided to study the effects of this, to attempt to settle the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate.

While their new parents had been told their behaviour would be closely monitored, they were kept in the dark about why.

Meanwhile, upset about what had happened, the trio became minor celebs in 1980s New York.

They lived together, started a restaurant called Triplets, and even had a cameo in 80s Madonna movie, Desperately Seeking Susan, in which they appeared in identical tight jeans.

They even went on TV chat shows.

“They were some great memories,” Kellman told The Independent.

Sadly, things unravelled and the brothers shut the restaurant.

Eddy took his own life aged 33 after suffering from depression.

Robert and David are now aged 56.

They say nobody has ever apologised for what happened.

David has said they were referred to by those who ran the study as “participants”.

“We were victims,’ he said.

It was later revealed there was actually a fourth baby who died - the triplets were actually quads.

And while some of the other twins and triplets involved in the experiment have also discovered their siblings, others remain in the dark.

And while Professor Neubauer later wrote a book, the results of the controversial study won’t be revealed until 2065.

According to Yale University, it houses the sealed documents on request of Neubauer and the Child Development Center of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.

A film called Three Identical Strangers, which tells their story of the trio, has been released in the UK.

Filmmaker Tim Wardle, said couldn’t believe the triplets’ story hadn’t been fully told.

The idea had previously been met with conspiracy theories and he was warned he would be ‘shut down.’

“I don’t regard the people who conducted the study as evil. But the brothers have a very different opinion,” he told The Irish Times.

The film is expected to be screened on Hulu in the USA.

A book, Accidental Brothers is also about to be released.