'Tiger King' zoo employees shot dead two trespassers and burnt their bodies, claims former landowner Jeff Lowe
A former owner of the Tiger King zoo has claimed two trespassers were allegedly shot dead by workers who later burned and buried their bodies. The bombshell claim made by Jeff Lowe, who purchased the land from Joe Exotic, was described by the latter's lawyer as "another example of his efforts to smear Joe's good name."
While the alleged crime was never reported to authorities, Lowe has said several people have told him the story and that he now believes the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma is haunted, according to a report by The Sun. Speaking to Travel Channel show 'Ghost Adventures', Lowe said the two workers were taking drugs and drinking beers when they spotted the trespassers. He claimed that "six different people came to us with the same story."
"One of those two always carried (guns) and he shot at them, killed one on the fence, the second was winged and landed on the ground," Lowe continued. "They went over to finish off the person on the ground and the initial shooter got violently ill, he couldn't look at the person and finish the job. The person who he was with finished the job. They got five gallons of gasoline and burned the bodies."
However, it is unclear if the alleged crime actually took place considering no suspects or victims have been identified. Furthermore, there's no indication that Joe Exotic knew about the alleged crime. "Jeff is a storyteller," his spokesman said. "This is is just one of the many laughable rumors that were always circulating around the zoo...None of these stories are true."
According to Lowe, the zoo is haunted after Joe's husband Travis Moldonado shot himself to death on the property. "I don’t know how Joe kept his mind straight by living here and having all stuff going on," he added.
In August, it emerged that the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma would be closed permanently to the public owing to a high-profile trademark dispute. Meanwhile, Exotic is serving 22 years at Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, after he was convicted for conspiracy to commit murder against his nemesis Carole Baskin.
The former big cat breeder, however, insists he's innocent of the crimes and that he's constantly targeted by prison staff in a campaign of abuse. 'Tiger King' became an overnight hit on Netflix around the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March. The docu-series details the story of Exotic, a larger-than-life polygamist owner of a private zoo in Oklahoma, and his years-long rivalry with self-proclaimed animal activist Baskin.
Exotic, whose real name is Joe Maldonado-Passage, continues to claim innocence. However, the 57-year-old is heard in the Netflix documentary series making repeated threats to kill Baskin during his daily web broadcast.
Meanwhile, the 'Tiger King' sensation has also made several other accusations, including that Baskin killed her ex-husband Don Lewis, who reportedly went missing without a trace in August 1997. According to Exotic, Baskin murdered Lewis and fed him to her big cats — an accusation she has strongly denied.