"Tiger King" star Carole Baskin's missing husband Don Lewis was likely murdered and there may be more than one person behind the killing, a Florida sheriff has claimed.
Lewis went missing in August 1997 and there has been widespread speculation as to what happened to him since the hit Netflix docuseries "Tiger King" raised the topic.
Many believe that cat conservationist Baskin was involved in the disappearance of her husband, who was legally declared dead in 2002, leaving behind $5 million in assets, the Daily Mail reported.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says he is suspicious of Baskin but pointed out that she is not his office's person of interest and that he believes there is more than one person involved in the murder of Lewis.
"I'm extremely suspicious but not just of her, of this whole circle here," Chronister told TMZ. "I don't want to allude to the fact or insinuate that she's our person of interest we're focusing on. I'm not comfortable saying that yet."
Chronister explained that murder is commonly committed by a group of people.
"There's normally not one person that commits a homicide, it's always a couple people," he said. "This had to be extremely planned out, this had to be well thought out. There's someone else involved in this. There's someone who was paid to do it, there's someone who helped do it."
Chronister is urging anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward, even if that means cutting a deal with authorities.
"I am hoping that a person wants to come and get this off their chest and help law enforcement do the right thing," he said, adding that "every deal is on the table right now." Chronister pleaded to members of the public to "help us solve the case."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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