August 13, 2020
By: Staff Report
TAMPA, Fla. – The three daughters of Baskin’s ex-husband, Don Lewis, have sued the Netflix ‘Tiger King’ docuseries subject, Carole Baskin, for information related to his unsolved disappearance in 1997.
The suit, filed in Hillsborough County, Florida, by Lewis’s 3-surviving daughters, is an attempt to force Baskin to submit information on the record, as it demands the defendants Baskin, Tiger King subject Kenny Farr and the woman listed as a witness on Lewis’s will, to turn over electronic device data, diaries and investigative material related to Lewis. It also offers a $100,000 reward for any information on his disappearance.
At a press conference on Monday, Lewis’s daughter Gale Rathbone said interest generated by Tiger King spurred action in the case. “Amazingly, our little family tragedy has become your tragedy,” she said. “Our search for closure and truth has become your mission also.”
Baskin told the Associated Press: “It’s been my policy not to discuss pending litigation until it’s been resolved.
“I had told some news outlets that I thought the press conference on August 10th was just a publicity stunt, but at that time was not aware there would be pending litigation,” said Baskin.
“Don was not easy to live with and like most couples, we had our moments. But I never threatened him and I certainly had nothing to do with his disappearance,” Baskin wrote in a statement refuting claims from the Netflix series. “When he disappeared, I did everything I could to assist the police. I encouraged them to check out the rumors from Costa Rica, and separately I hired a private investigator.”
The lawsuit was served on Wednesday and in a Facebook Post, the lawyers for the family, Law Offices of Phillips & Hunt, said, “Carole Baskin was served with our lawsuit by Tampa Process LLC. We asked for proof of service and they sent us these photos. Once again, we invite Ms. Baskin (and her lawyers) to sit down and discuss the death and disappearance of Don Lewis.”
The filed complaint can be read here, in PDF format.
Publishers Note: While The Free Press will always be free for our readers, and ad-supported, we are asking our loyal readers to consider a monthly donation of $3 to maintain our local journalism and help us grow, as we ramp up ad sales locally.
You can click here to support us.
We thank you all for your consideration and supporting local journalism.