Son of ‘Monkey Head Doctor’ Admits Stealing Thousands from Ailing Mother

A monkey who survived a head transplant

JEFFERSON, Ohio — The son of man known as the “monkey head doctor” has pleaded guilty to forging checks and stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his ailing mother.

Michael A. White, 57, of Geneva, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of forgery just days before his case was set to go to trial, the Ashtabula Star Beacon reported.

White was charged with forging his elderly mother’s name on checks and other documents starting in 2011. She died in 2013 at age 79.

White’s father, Robert J. White, was a globally renowned neuroscientist most noted for successfully transplanting the head of a living monkey to another monkey’s body in 1970.

Dr. Robert J. White

The surgery earned him the nickname “Dr. Butcher” among animal rights activists. He died in 2010.