Carole Baskin got ex Don Lewis strangled and tossed into Gulf of Mexico from a plane, claims lawyer
The former husband of Carole Baskin, of 'Tiger King' fame, was strangled in an airplane flying over the Gulf of Mexico and then pushed out, his lawyer has claimed.
After the Netflix documentary series — which highlighted the deeply interconnected society of big cat conservationists in the US — aired on March 20, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office was reportedly flooded with new tips regarding Don Lewis.
Lewis had been married to Baskin before she tied the knot with Howard Baskin and had gone missing in 1997. He was later declared legally dead, resulting in Baskin inheriting his considerable fortune of $5 to $10 million and that allegations that she was involved in his disappearance.
Joseph Fritz, the attorney for late Don Lewis, did not name Baskin but did insist that there was foul play involved in his client's disappearance more than two decades ago.
"What I had heard was that he was strangled from the backseat of an airplane over the Gulf [of Mexico] at 50 feet and dropped out over the Gulf," he said during an interview on Fox Nation series "A Tiger King Investigation."
"He loved those cats," he continued. "He never would have just walked away from them. Ever. He was proud of those cats. He loved his cats. Some force made him leave."
Lewis had met Baskin while he was still married but would leave his wife for her. The couple would eventually set up 'Big Cat Rescue' in Hillsborough County, which is now in her hands after his disappearance in 1997.
His abandoned car had been found in the parking lot of a small airport and she told the police at the time that he had been planning to visit his home in Costa Rica.
Fritz shared that his "working theory" was that Lewis was killed after he was lured to a private county airport under the pretense that he could buy a plane on the cheap.
"Don Lewis, he was terribly cheap while he was very wealthy," the attorney said. "He was cheap beyond belief. What would have lured him more than anything else is a good deal on an airplane.'
"So that's what I assume happened, that he got lured up to the Pilot Country Estates to look at an airplane," he continued, adding how Lewis used to fly under the range of radar detection because of his revoked pilot's license.
A popular theory is that Baskin had Lewis fed to the tigers at Big Cat Rescue to inherit his multimillion-dollar fortune, though she has reacted furiously to such suggestions and insisted she is innocent.
"When he disappeared, I did everything I could to assist the police," she said, adding that the Netflix segment implicating her in the case had "lies and innuendos from people who are not credible" and had been "as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers."
While there are no new leads regarding Lewis' disappearance and death yet, Fritz is hopeful.
"One day one of these people is going to stub their toe and want a get-out-of-jail-free card and that's when something's going to happen," he said.