‘Tiger King’ star Carole Baskin’s missing husband’s family file lawsuit

In Netflix‘s hit series Tiger King, we learned that Carole Baskin‘s former husband Don Lewis mysteriously disappeared in 1997.

Now, Lewis’ family is suing Baskin for answers regarding his disappearance. They are also offering a $100,000 reward for those who have information regarding the case.

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This week, it was revealed that the Lewis family have hired a lawyer and are planning to take legal action against Baskin. Attorney John Phillips held a news conference in Tampa on Aug. 10. During the conference, he shared that he’s filed a lawsuit against Baskin on behalf of the Lewis family. The family are attempting to depose her and ger her to speak on the record about her husband’s disappearance.

Along with the legal suit, the Lewis family are paying for Tampa-area billboards asking for information regarding the case. As well, they are offering a $100,000 reward in exchange for information to help solve the case.

On Monday, Baskin released a statement regarding the new lawsuit. She reveals she initially thought the reopening of the case was a publicity stunt.

“It’s been my policy not to discuss pending litigation until it’s been resolved,” she says. “I had told some news outlets that I thought the press conference on Aug. 10 was just a publicity stunt, but at that time was not aware there would be pending litigation.”

Lewis vanished in 1997 a day before a scheduled trip to Costa Rica. He was never found and declared legally dead in 2002. He and Baskin started the Big Cat Rescue in Tampa together.

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As we saw in Tiger King, Joe Exotic repeatedly speculated that Baskin killed Lewis and possibly fed him to the tigers. However, no information proving this theory has been brought forward.

Exotic is currently serving 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot. He was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill Baskin. He also has more than a dozen wildlife violations. The violations include the killings of five tigers.

Baskin previously sued Exotic for trademark and copyright infringement and won the $1 million civil case against him. As well, Baskin won control of Exotic’s zoo back in June.

Tiger King and Netflix are also facing a copyright lawsuit. Hollywood Weekly Magazine claims it trademarked the “Tiger King” phrase over seven years ago. Now, the magazine is suing the streaming platform for using the phrase.

What do you think happened to Carole Baskin’s husband? Let us know in the comments below.