Marina Chapman
Marina Chapman (born approximately 1950)[1] is a Colombian-born British woman known for her claim to have spent much of her early childhood in the jungle, alone except for a colony of capuchin monkeys.[2]
Chapman states that when she was approximately four years old, she was taken from her village (whose name she was too young to have learned), and then released for a reason she did not understand; she spent the next several years following capuchin monkeys, until hunters rescued her — by which point she had no human language. According to Chapman, she later was sold to a brothel in Cúcuta, then lived on the streets, and then became a slave of a mafia family.[3]
A neighbour, Maruja, rescued her from her predicament. Maruja's daughter, Maria, adopted Chapman when Chapman was approximately 14, and Maruja sent Chapman to Bogota to live with one of her daughters.[3] This family had connections to the city of Bradford, Yorkshire, England, through the textile industry. The family sent their children to Bradford in 1977 and sent Chapman to be a nanny.[2] She had lived in Bradford since about 1983.[3] She married a scientist in the Bradford area.[2]
She subsequently wrote her autobiography, "The Girl With No Name", (published 2013 by Mainstream Publishing) with the help of her daughter Vanessa;[2] it was rejected by several publishers because they believed it was not authentic.[3] Her daughter, Vanessa, was involved in creating the book.[2] She currently lives in Bradford.[3] Chapman and her husband have two children.[2]
National Geographic created the documentary Woman Raised By Monkeys. It premiered on Thursday 12 December 2013.[4]
Analysis
Carlos Conde, a professor in Colombia, stated that he did a test using pictures of Chapman's adopted family and capuchin monkeys that strongly suggested that Chapman was telling the truth. A University of London psychology professor, Christopher French, argued that Chapman may be affected by false memories.[2]
References
- ↑ Strange life of the housewife who grew up with monkeys, by Philip Sherwell and Josie in the Daily Telegraph; published 28 Oct 2012; retrieved 7 February 2015
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Payne, Terry. "Monkeys: is this granny from Bradford telling the truth?" Radio Times. 12 December 2013. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Hattenstone, Simon. "Was Marina Chapman really brought up by monkeys?" The Guardian. Friday 12 April 2013. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.
- ↑ "WOMAN RAISED BY MONKEYS." National Geographic. Retrieved on 23 February 2014.