Netflix's smash hit docuseries Tiger King has been everywhere lately. It tells the story of the bitter feud between animal rights activist Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic, former owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park.
Carole and Joe were bitter rivals who argued over what loving big cats really looks like. Joe claimed to be running an honest business and caring for his big cats, but Carole felt differently. We won't spoil how that plays out. There seems to be another story from the show that's receiving a lot of attention, however.
One of the areas where Carole and Joe's feud got ugly was when Joe insinuated Carole was involved in the 1997 disappearance of her husband Don Lewis. Joe is among many who believe that Carole may have killed Don. They even believe she fed his remains to the animals in her sanctuary. Joe even went so far as to make a music video where a Carole lookalike does just that.
Although police initially ruled Carole out as a person of interest, some believe this documentary will change that. In fact, the Florida sheriff is now asking fans for help with any possible new leads.
The Netflix hit docuseries Tiger King has been the talk of the internet for days now. The series tells the story of the rivalry between Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic. While there's a lot that happens there, it's one of the details of their rivalry that's getting all the attention.
Joe is among many who think Carole may have had something to do with the 1997 disappearance of her then-husband Don Lewis. Joe even taunted Carole by having a doppelganger of the animal activist in one of his music videos. In the video, the Carole lookalike feeds the remains of a dead husband to tigers, a theory that's been floated regarding Carole and Don.
Those who binged the Netflix series seem pretty convinced Carole had something to do with it. It's been hard for a lot to break through the current news cycle, but comments about Carole's involvement in her husband's death managed to. It's all fans of the series have been able to talk about.
Carole is focused on Big Cat Rescue, her Florida sanctuary. As old rumors resurface, however, Carole has been forced to speak out on the discussion. In a statement to People magazine, Carole defended herself.
"A lifelong animal lover, I was immediately drawn to the possibility of exposing the misery caused by the rampant breeding of big cat cubs for exploitation and the awful lives these majestic creatures are forced to endure in roadside zoos and back yards," she shared.
"There are no words for how disappointing it is to see that the series not only does not do any of that, but has instead chosen to be as salacious and sensational as possible to draw in viewers," she continued.
"As part of that, they devoted an entire segment to 23-year-old lies and innuendos suggesting I was involved in my husband Don’s 1997 disappearance."
Don's disappearance is made more interesting by the fact that the multimillionaire was the one who helped Carole build her big cat sanctuary.
Don vanished without a trace on August 18, 1997. Carole was the one to report him missing. She said that the night before, he told her he was going to Costa Rica, where he eventually wanted them to move the sanctuary. Two days later, his van was found at an airport 40 miles from Tampa, where they resided.
Suspicion of Carole's involvement didn't arise because of Tiger King, however. In 1998, Don's adult children from a previous marriage, as well as his longtime secretary, speculated Carole could have taken part. One daughter, Donna Pettis, even feared Carole had fed Don to the tigers.
"It’s a perfect scenario to dispose of someone," she told People. "We were upset that the cops didn’t test the DNA on the meat grinder."
At the time, Carole seemed to find the claims laughable. "My tigers eat meat; they don’t eat people," she said.
"There would be bones and remains of my husband out there. I’m amazed that people would even think such a thing."
Despite Carole's claims that the marriage was in good standing, troubles between the two were well-known. They clashed over whether the sanctuary should breed big cats. Don had filed for a domestic-violence injunction against Carole, accusing her of threatening to shoot him just two months prior to his disappearance.
In a blog explaining her side of things after Tiger King debuted, Carole says that struggles in the marriage were caused by Don's possible Alzheimer's disease. Other than that, things between the two were as they'd always been, she claims.
"Don was not easy to live with and like most couples, we had our moments. But I never threatened him and I certainly had nothing to do with his disappearance," she wrote.
"When he disappeared, I did everything I could to assist the police. I encouraged them to check out the rumors from Costa Rica, and separately I hired a private investigator," she continued.
"Robert Moor’s Wondery Podcast 'Joe Exotic' included discussion of Don’s disappearance but was much more honest and fair in their treatment of it. They ended the discussion by pointing out that the investigator told them that, in their dealings with me, 'she was courteous and there was nothing that jumped out at me in terms of her demeanor that to make me think that she was not giving us accurate information or hiding anything.'"
The Hillsborough County Sherriff's Office is speaking out on the case. Patrol sergeant Greg Thomas, who worked homicide and cold cases for the department for years, told Oxygen that Don had "literally vanished into thin air." Although he was legally declared dead after being missing for five years, the case is not a homicide investigation.
"As far as our case goes, he’s still a missing person," he said. "It’s not a homicide because he’s missing. We have no knowledge of where he’s at or a body or anything."
Sheriff Chad Chronister told TMZ that he hopes the documentary will renew interest in Don's case. "I figured it was time to use the popularity of the show to see if anyone wanted to come forward with new leads," he said. He also took to Twitter to ask fans for help. "Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage," he wrote, "I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads."
With true crime sleuths all over this case, there's no telling what could happen next. Police aren't particularly suspicious of Carole, but that isn't easing the minds of the many who are. It will be interesting to see if any new information comes to light as a result of the popularity of Tiger King.
