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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