Carole Baskin's dead husband's 'will signature was a forgery'

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: June 3 2020 | 18:22

Last updated: July 12 2020 | 07:57

A county sheriff insists that the signature of Tiger King star Carole Baskin's late husband in his will was "100% a forgery".

A county sheriff has insisted that the signature in the will of Tiger King star Carole Baskin's late husband Don Lewis was "100% a forgery".

The hit Netflix series touched on the mysterious disappearance of multi-millionaire businessman Lewis in 1997, with his wife going on to inherit his $10 million estate when he was legally declared dead in 2002.

The documentary also explored Joe Exotic's allegations that Baskin had killed Lewis and fed him to her tigers - a theory she has repeatedly dismissed as ridiculous.

In a new interview, Chad Chronister - sheriff for Hillsborough County near Baskin's Tampa home - revealed that experts had decided that Lewis's signature in his will was a fake but by the time that discovery was made, it was too late to pursue any action.

"They had two experts deem it 100% a forgery. But, we knew that... we knew that before," he told 10 Tampa Bay.

"The will had already been executed at that point. But, it certainly cast another shadow of suspicion, by all means."

Earlier this week Baskin got one up on her old rival Exotic when a judge ordered that his zoo should be handed over to her control.