Overnight, Carole Baskin became a pop culture phenomenon. She went from being a beloved figure to her “cats and kittens” who kept up with her big cat rescue efforts, but after the release of Netflix’s Tiger King, Carole and her co-stars became international superstars. However, while Joe Exotic’s antics were laughed at, Carole Baskin and the mysterious case of her missing husband, Don Lewis, caused millions to believe she killed him.
While Joe Exotic remains behind bars for allegedly plotting the murder of Carole Baskins, she has recently been awarded his 16-acre zoo in Oklahoma after winning a lawsuit against the eccentric figure. The public has called for the investigation into Lewis’s missing person case to be reopened, and it looks as if that request is well on its way.
“They called in some experts to say that the will was a forgery and I had already told them that two months ago,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Tuesday (June 2), according to Entertainment Weekly. “They had two experts deem it 100% a forgery.” Carole Baskin was awarded millions from her wealthy husband after he vanished in 1997 and was deemed legally dead in 2002. In Tiger King, Lewis’s family members were angry with Baskin because they claimed she didn’t give them any of the money.
Meanwhile, Baskin has denied she had anything to do with her husband’s disappearance. “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,” Baskin previously stated. “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.” It’s unclear what these new alleged forgery findings will lead to in the future.
