A Florida Sheriff Confirms the Belief That Carole Baskin’s Late Husband’s Will Was Forged

Even if you haven’t seen Tiger King on Netflix, you’ve heard enough about it to at least garner the basics. To recap, though, Carole Baskin owns a big cat rescue in Florida, and she is the sworn enemy of Oklahoman big cat breeder Joe Exotic.

In the documentary series, much was made about the disappearance of Baskin’s second husband, Don Lewis, from whom she inherited millions of dollars.

Exotic insinuated (and outright stated) that Baskin killed Don Lewis and perhaps fed him to her tigers or order to cash in, a claim that Don’s family didn’t discredit.

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Sheriff Confirms Carole Baskin’s Missing Husband’s Will Was Forged -written by @lysshoekstra ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After watching ‘Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness’, everybody’s favorite person to hate—became Carol Baskin, aka enemy #1 if you’re asking Joe Exotic. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ There were so many storylines to follow between Joe’s reality show, the polygamy, the zoo employee who lost her arm to a Tiger, a potential cult, aswell as the disappearance of #Carole Baskin’s husband, #DonLewis. Lewis mysteriously disappeared and then was declared legally dead in 2002, leaving Baskin with his 10 million dollar fortune. Since watching the show, many fans have theorized that she had something to do with her husband’s disappearance. However, investigators say, there’s been no evidence to prove it that theory. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now, a sheriff in Florida has revealed that officers believe the signature on Lewis' will was actually forged. Hillsborough County Sheriff, Chad Chronister clarifies, he believes the signature on the will was traced. “They had two experts deem it 100 percent a forgery. But, we knew that … we knew that before," Chronister tells Tampa’s WTSP-TV. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ An unnamed woman came forward and confessed to being forced to witness the signatures, though the statute of limitations has already expired in regards to the will, the sheriff says. "The will had already been executed at that point. But, it certainly cast another shadow of suspicion, by all means." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But Chronister says Baskin is not a suspect, and adds that “investigators have some great leads."

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It turns out that law enforcement in the case also believes that, at the very least, Lewis’ will was forged.

During a June 2 interview, local Sheriff Chad Chronister made a statement that he believes the will is “100 percent a forgery.”

“We knew that before. The problem was the statute of limitations had already expired. The will had already been executed at that point.

A judge deemed it valid, so the civil side of it would be execution of the will, the disbursements of the funds is one thing.

But then yo have the criminal side of it, it’s unable to be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations.”

There are several people involved with the case, including Lewis’ friend Joseph Fritz and two different handwriting experts, who believe Lewis’ signature on his will is traced from his 1991 marriage record.

In addition, the notary and the power of attorney on the documents have no memory of authenticating them.

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REPOST. With everyone doing the right thing and staying at home, many of you have watched the Netflix documentary #TigerKing. One facet of the documentary is correct, the disappearance of Don Lewis is still an active cold case. So, with all the attention surrounding it, I figured it was time to use the popularity of the show to see if anyone wanted to come forward with new leads. Share this post, share it on your stories and timelines and let’s see if we can’t solve this case together. If you have any new information, please call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 813-247-8200 #tigerking #carolbaskin #donlewis #netflix #tiger #bigcatrescue #joeexotic #tigerkingnetflix

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Baskin has maintained that she had nothing to do with the disappearance, calling the allegations “the most ludicrous of all lies,” and hasn’t made a statement about the possibly forged will.

Several months ago, Sheriff Chronister revealed the county was reopening Lewis’ case, and that he personally believes Don was murdered. He has also stated that the department has some “great leads” to work with going forward.

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