Is Carols Baskin Husband Alive? What Happened To Carol Baskins Husband? Who Is Carol Baskins Husband?
by Samina
Updated Jan 19, 2023
Is Carol's Baskin Husband Alive?
Don's attorney, Joseph Fritz, claimed that after the release of Netflix's original Tiger King documentary in 2020, he was contacted by a detective looking into Don's cold case. Fritz enraged the detective, causing them to erroneously inform Fritz that the federal government has documents from the Department of Homeland Security stating that "Don is currently alive and well in Costa Rica."
According to Tiger King 2, Carole's husband had reportedly loaned money to various people and was living very well, likely able to live in Costa Rica indefinitely.
The new theory on Carole Baskin's husband and Big Cat Rescue co-founder is mainly speculative, given that most of the people interviewed in Tiger King 2 are either questionable figures from Don's past, armchair detectives, or acquaintances who won't give up too much information.
The descriptions of Don Lewis in the Netflix documentary expose various levels of his shady past and dealings, making any proposed reasons for his disappearance as plausible as the others. While a rumored document from the United States federal government lends credence to the theory that Don Lewis is still alive in Costa Rica, Tiger King 2 contains just as many cliffhangers and circumstantial evidence to suggest that this isn't the case.
What Happened To Carol Baskins Husband?
The subject of Carole Baskin's missing husband, Don Lewis, is revisited in Netflix's Tiger King 2, with the new documentary proposing an even wilder theory for his disappearance. While Tiger King 2 provides updates on the lives of tiger and exotic cat owners, it also presents other theories and evidence on long-held suspicions raised in the original documentary.
Aside from Joe Exotic, one of the most memorable pop culture moments from Tiger King was the theory that Carole Baskin, Joe's nemesis, murdered her husband, Don Lewis. Carole had a tumultuous marriage with Don, and after he threatened to leave her and go to Costa Rica in 1997, Carole killed him and fed him to their cats, according to Joe Exotic and a few other figures on Tiger King.
According to Tiger King 2, Don Lewis purposefully vanished after desperately wanting to escape Carole and angry business associates and possibly even family members of those he wronged. While some believe Carole killed Don or knows who did, others from Don's past believe he is still alive and well in Costa Rica.
Who Is Carol Baskins Ex-Husband?
At the time of his disappearance, Jack Donald Lewis was a millionaire; according to a 2005 Tampa Bay Times article, Lewis learned how to hustle early on, working three jobs in high school before making money in tanker trucks, car auctioning, and predatory real estate. His friends described him as "ruthless," When he met Baskin in 1981, they had an affair that lasted until Lewis' divorce in 1990.
They married and began rescuing big cats, eventually establishing Wildlife on Easy Street. The annual budget for the refuge is $225,000 per person.
Lewis, 59, went missing unexpectedly on August 18, 1997. Lewis' van was discovered two days later at a nearby private airport in Pasco County, where he was known to "buy aircraft impulsively with cash," according to the Tampa Bay Times. His credit cards sat unused. An extensive police investigation looked into everything, including Lewis' Costa Rica properties, where he planned to retire, but all they found were "extramarital affairs" and "questionable business practices."
Who Is Carol Baskins Husband?
Former management consultant Howard Baskin worked in the fields of strategic planning, finance, and operations with start-ups and rapidly expanding businesses. He worked with Citicorp for 11 years in a variety of roles, most recently as the division's director of strategic planning for commercial real estate.
He worked as a general manager and equity participant for three businesses after leaving Citicorp in 1991, one of which he co-founded. He currently devotes his entire time to Big Cat Rescue in his roles as chairman of the advisory board, treasurer, secretary, and member of the audit committee.
Acting for three years on the board of the Upper Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, as well as serving as the organization's first chairman of its performance oversight and monitoring committee and a member of its external relations committee, are examples of additional civic engagement. Additionally, he was a former director and chairman of the community service committee for The Rotary Club of Tampa.
Is Carol's Baskin Husband Alive - FAQs
Tiger King star Carole Baskin's former husband, who went missing in 1997 and was declared legally dead in 2002, is alive and well in Costa Rica
No evidence of Lewis being murdered has surfaced, but investigators believe it is unlikely that he disappeared on his own. Lewis left behind over US$5 million in assets. He was declared legally dead in 2002 on the fifth anniversary of his disappearance.
Carole Baskin has been married three times: to Michael Murdock, Don Lewis and Howard Baskin, in that order.
Carole remarried and she and her husband, Howard Baskin, turned Wildlife on Easy Street into Big Cat Rescue.
Don's van was discovered at a private airport two days after he went missing, and Carole said that he had told her he was going on a trip to Costa Rica. But despite a police investigation and an inquiry by Carole's own private investigator, Don was never found, and was declared dead in 2002.