Part of the intrigue that surrounds Netflix's Tiger King is the inconclusive fate of Don Lewis, the husband of big-cat rights activist Carole Baskin, who mysteriously disappeared back in 1997. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened to him, but almost two-and-a-half decades later, we may finally have a lead on the criminal case, and it comes from none other than Jeff Lowe.
When Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness first came out on Netflix last year, it unexpectedly became an overnight sensation among curious viewers. The seven-part limited series, which follows the true murder-for-hire story that unraveled within the hidden world of big-cat breeding, ended up reaching a top viewing streak of 27 days back in March and April 2020. In doing so, Tiger King set a new record that was previously unheard of for the streaming platform, and the unresolved disappearance of Baskin's husband became one of the talked-about aspects of the series.
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According to TMZ, Lowe, the man to whom the imprisoned Joe Exotic initially gave his zoo back in 2016, received an anonymous letter at the Oklahoma property last year, with only the zoo's address on it and no sender name or return address. He said the envelope was postmarked in Providence, Rhode Island, and contained a disturbing statement that read: "The corpse lies under Her House." The "Her" in the statement clearly refers to Baskin, who many people, including Exotic himself, believe is guilty of hiring a hitman to kill Lewis. Last year, Baskin uploaded a video to YouTube where she denied the theories that Lewis is currently buried under her property's septic tank system. Her current husband, Howard Baskin, also recently responded to Lowe's "revelatory" letter, telling TMZ that it is "just another stupid stunt by [Lowe] to deflect from his own legal troubles."
Hillsborough County investigators had apparently asked Lowe to hand over the letter to them when he first received it in May 2020, but he claims that the producers of the upcoming Tiger King sequel had requested he keep it while they were filming. Since filming has officially finished, Lowe has given the letter to the authorities and they will reportedly be testing it for DNA and fingerprints.
Currently, a live-action adaptation of the Tiger King story starring Nicolas Cage as Joe Exotic is in the works at Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. Acclaimed SNL star Kate McKinnon is also set to executive produce a separate Tiger King series for Peacock, in which she'll portray Baskin.
Perhaps the truth of Lewis's whereabouts will finally be revealed by the time either of those highly-anticipated reenactments arrives. Of course, the authenticity of Lowe's letter is sure to be doubted by many viewers.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness is currently available for streaming on Netflix.
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Source: TMZ