Netflix's Tiger King is a whirlwind rollercoaster of a ride, and some of the most shocking twists
center around Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin, and her missing ex-husband, Don Lewis.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Lewis disappeared in 1997 and was
declared legally dead five years later; his body has never been found.
Baskin's arch-nemesis Joe Exotic is convinced that Baskin did the deed herself.
He even made an entire music video based around his theory that Baskin killed her husband,
and fed his remains to the tigers at Big Cat Rescue.
Lewis' disappearance is examined in detail in episode three of Tiger King, which makes
it clear that Joe Exotic definitely isn't the only person who thinks Baskin is guilty.
Other people also stepped forward to express their suspicions, including Lewis' lawyer,
secretary, ex-wife, and daughters.
Baskin, who also has a big role in the documentary, calmly answered all of the Tiger King producers'
questions about the case, always insisting upon her innocence, but if you go by how the
documentary presents things, there are reasons to be suspicious.
But as Carole put it way back in 1998, when the spotlight was on her as the story was
unfolding,
"Without a body, there is nothing I can do to clear my name."
"There's no way that I can finally say, 'See?
I didn't do it!'
I can't do it."
Even today, the mystery is still continuing to unravel.
In April 2020, a body language expert shared some insight about Baskin's Tiger King interviews.
Even though Carole Baskin seems eerily calm while discussing her ex-husband in Tiger King,
psychologist and body language analyst Bruce Durham has shared his opinion that Baskin's
gestures reveal that she might be hiding something.
"2 and 2's not equalling 4 here, Carol."
According to him, one clue that she's keeping a secret of some sort is all in the lips,
specifically, the fact that she presses them together when asked about rumors that she
threatened her husband before his disappearance.
In Durham's analysis, the expert alleged that this is a compelling sign of someone hiding
something that they're thinking about, but don't want to say.
"She's stopping herself saying something there.
If I had seen that lip [unintelligible] I wouldn't move an inch.
What were you thinking there, Carole?
Tell us a bit more."
Durham also noticed something interesting when Baskin was asked why she never had a
memorial ceremony for her missing, presumed dead husband.
To Durham, the fact that she doesn't look down and search for memories while discussing
this is a clue that there's more to the story than she's letting on.
According to him, people tend to look down when they're searching for memories, or digging
back through emotional moments in their life.
Carole, he claims, doesn't do that.
"Down here is yeah, I would feel that emotion, that empathy.
I'm looking for her to look down.
And she looks straight ahead.
She looks straight ahead at the interviewer."
In Tiger King, Baskin recalls receiving the letter about Lewis being declared dead.
She says she got the letter in the morning and the next thing she knew, it was nighttime.
"I remember looking out the window, and then the next time that I remembered anything,
it was pitch black outside.
It was just like I had just completely zoned out."
If that's the case, Durham finds it suspicious that Carole doesn't appear to reflect on why
she suffered such a lengthy blackout, or display much emotion about what would probably be
a pretty upsetting memory.
"What was it, like, what.
Just tell me the emotion that was going on there, because what you're saying is you blacked
out for hours and you can't remember why, but there's no emotion there, so what else
was there about?"
Of course, Durham couldn't say for sure whether Baskin had anything to do with Lewis' disappearance.
He does, however, have some follow-up questions for her, just like many viewers.
"So the whole world's wondering, did you actually grind your husband up and feed him to the
tigers so there's no evidence?"
Shortly after Tiger King shot to the number one spot on Netflix, Carole Baskin released
a lengthy statement condemning the series, and the way that it portrayed her story.
Baskin, who now runs Big Cat Rescue with her second husband, Howard Baskin, says she was
told the series was intended to draw attention to the plight of captive big cats, not dig
up a cold case she was involved in from decades past.
She wrote in the statement,
"There are not words for how disappointing it is to see that the series not only does
not do any of that, but has had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible
to draw viewers."
In her statement, Baskin aimed to refute pretty much every allegation made in Tiger King about
her alleged role in Don Lewis' disappearance, from the restraining order to the meat grinder
to the claims that she was after Lewis' money, and she came with receipts, including several
court documents.
She called the idea that she was involved in his disappearance "idiotic."
"That became, like, this wholly exciting thing, that I ran him through that grinder.
And it's like, I couldn't have run his hand through the grinder, much less a body."
The producers of Tiger King responded to Baskin's statement, alleging that she was aware of
the content of the series and wasn't coerced to appear in it.
Despite a police investigation, Don Lewis' body was never found.
That means the case is still technically open after 23 years.
In fact, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister asked the public for new tips on
the case following Tiger King's sensational debut.
On March 30, 2020, Chronister wrote on Facebook,
"With everyone doing the right thing and staying at home, many of you have watched the Netflix
documentary #TigerKing.
One facet of the documentary is correct, the disappearance of Don Lewis is still an active
cold case.
So, with all the attention surrounding it, I figured it was time to use the popularity
of the show to see if anyone wanted to come forward with new leads...Let's see if we can't
solve this case together."
"Police combed the area, but after a year and half of investigating numerous theories,
police still have no suspects."
Thanks to the post, the sheriff is getting multiple tips, but he told People that they're
not necessarily panning out, saying,
"So far, nothing viable.
More theory-driven.
But I'm going to be honest with you: I remain optimistic."
For those who still can't get enough of the mystery, and all things Tiger King, Netflix
has produced a new episode of the hit series, and who knows what else could be on the horizon.
As showrunner Rebecca Chaiklin previously told Entertainment Weekly, there's "a lot
that's still unfolding" with the Tiger King story.
And clearly, that's true!
That being said, Baskin definitely won't be participating in any more filming for the
series, according to a statement from her spokesperson to The Wrap.
Sorry, all you cool cats and kittens!
"I believe that there's a lot of people out there that are speculating and don't have
anything to back it up.
One day, somebody's gonna stub their toe."
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