The woman who found out her husband was her FATHER (but only after he'd died)

A woman has spoken of the horror she felt on discovering her late husband was in fact her father. 

Valerie Spruill, 60, from Doylestown, Ohio, only made the horrifying discovery through a DNA test after her husband Percy had died. 

Spruill, who has three children and eight grandchildren, is now telling her story in an attempt to find her other siblings from her father.

'It needs to be told, because children need to know where they come from,' she told the Akron Beacon Journal. 'And I know it hurts, because I have been devastated by this.'

The confusion began because she was looked after by her grandparents from 3-months-old.

Her mother Christine was one the 'night ladies' - as she called them - who testified in the 1980 trial of Summit County Probate Judge James Barbuto, who was eventually convicted of sex charges. 

Valerie's mother and father got together when he was just 15 and the number of children they had is unclear, but she is aware of six brothers.

She was cared for by her grandparents and her mother visited, although Valerie thought she was a family friend.

Aged nine, she was devastated when she found out that Christine - who died in 1984 - had been her mother. It also meant the man she thought was her father was in fact her grandfather.

But she was not told who her real father was and Valerie later met and married Percy. 

Percy, who was born in Mississippi, worked in Akron as a truck driver and a parking-lot attendant. 

He died in 1998 after a brief illness at the age of 60, but for years, she had heard bizarre rumours about their relationship.  

She finally learned the truth about her marriage from an uncle after Percy died, and confirmed the relationship with a DNA test after finding his hairs on a brush in their room.

She does not know for certain that he was aware he had married his daughter, but she said she strongly believes he did know but was simply afraid to tell her.

Since his death, Valerie, who is retired, has been seeing a therapist to help her deal with the horrifying revelation.

Valerie has fought through serious health problems, including a lengthy hospital stay, which she believes were only brought on by the stress of discovering the traumatic family secret

She is hoping her story may help her reach additional siblings she didn’t know existed.

'My biggest goal is to find them and let ’em know that [their mother] loved them, no matter what,' she said.  'And [to say], 'Thank God she gave you away like she did me, so you could have a beautiful life.'