The popularity of the new Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has prompted a Florida sheriff to seek new leads in a cold case.
The 1997 disappearance of Jack Donald “Don” Lewis is a part of the series which revolves around the bizarre tale of Joseph Maldonado-Passage, aka “Joe Exotic,” a former tiger-zoo owner who is currently in prison for a murder-for-hire plot.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister on Monday took advantage of the show’s popularity to ask for new leads in the case of Lewis.
“Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads,” Chronister wrote on Twitter.
A multimillionaire, Lewis was married to animal rights activist Carole Baskin, and together they ran a wildlife sanctuary in Tampa when he vanished in August 1997.
Maldonado-Passage, sentenced to 22 years after being convicted of trying to hire a hitman to murder Baskin, claims in Tiger King that Lewis was murdered and fed to his own wild cats. Baskin denies the accusations. Authorities interviewed for the series say there was no evidence to support Maldonado-Passage’s claim.
Since @netflix and #Covid19 #Quarantine has made #TigerKing all the rage, I figured it was a good time to ask for new leads. #CaroleBaskin #DonLewis #Netflix #Tiger #BigCatRescue #JoeExotic #TigerKingNetflix #HCSO pic.twitter.com/LHoJcBZVOI
— Chad Chronister (@ChadChronister) March 30, 2020
