This particular story seems like an M. Night Shyamalan classic, simply because of the twists. Recently, Carole Baskin claimed that her ex-husband Don Lewis has been found alive. To little surprise, Tiger King’ Joe Exotic has responded to the comments, reviving his long-forgotten beef with Baskins. The 61-year-old animal rights activist claims that her missing former husband has been found ‘alive’ in Costa Rica. However, Joe quickly responded to this claim and stated otherwise.
Outline
Don Lewis went missing in 1997 and was officially declared dead in 2002. However, at the time, Lewis’ daughter held Bakin responsible for killing her father. The claim was backed by Joe Exotic who stated that Baskin fed her ex-husband to the tigers. On the flip side, Baskin said in Netflix’s follow-up series Tiger King 2 two years ago that her husband was alive. In one of her interviews, Baskin said, “They said that my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica.”
Joe Exotic responds to Carole Baskin’s claims of ex-husband still alive
Baskin opened up more in her previous interview. She says, “And yet all of this drama has been made about me having something to do with his disappearance when Homeland Security has known where he is at least since back then.” Joe Exotic wasted no time and responded to these claims in a comment on an article stating the same news. Joe wrote, “No he is not.” He also shared a statement issued by his attorney John Phillips.
The statement read, “During the filming of Tiger King, detailed efforts were made to find Don Lewis. They all failed. He is not alive.” In another post, Joe said, “If Don Lewis Is Alive I Will Voluntarily Go To Death Row. Carole had him declared dead 5 years after SHE reported him missing. So she could collect the millions in insurance money and his total estate. Reporters and the public need to put your crack pipes down and use some common sense. She would have to not only have to give all of that money back but it would be fraud All of these years that she had a court declare him dead to collect all of that money.”
Is Don Lewis alive?
He continues, “Just last year she was in the news saying if his bones were found on the property someone was setting her up because she was worried something might surface. She was the one that said he crashed in the Ocean. She is the one who said the cartel killed him. Go back and listen to all of her stories change to fit the moment. As the person who dug into this the most, I assure you that meat grinder is in that pond on the property of Big Cat Rescue and what the Tigers did not eat are under that septic tank. She has built cages around both areas to keep people away.”
Joe Exotic continues writing, “Don Lewis is not alive, she knows that, the news knows that and why the hell won’t she take a polygraph test to clear her name? Because its bullshit stories like this that keep her in the news and making money. This is why you need a leader that will tell you enough is enough.” As of now, it is not known if Lewis is alive or not.
On the other side, Joe Exotic was found guilty by a federal jury in 2019 on two counts of hiring someone to murder Baskin in Florida. The charges also include eight counts of violating the Lacey Act by falsifying wildlife records. This was followed by nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act by killing five tigers and selling tigers across state lines.
