Video footage of Carole Baskin, who starred in the Netflix documentary Tiger King, claiming her missing – and allegedly dead – husband was found alive in Costa Rica, is going viral.
Baskin, 61, was famously accused by Tiger King, Joe Exotic, of murdering her ex-husband Jack ‘Don’ Lewis, who mysteriously disappeared in 1997. Since then she has maintained her innocence.
It has now emerged that in an interview on British television in 2021, Baskin was referring to a Homeland Security document that allegedly proved her innocence.
In the undated and unconfirmed Homeland Security letter, which appeared briefly in an episode of Tiger King season 2, an FBI agent reportedly wrote, “Don Lewis is currently alive and well in Costa Rica.”
The investigative report concludes: “Lewis may remain in Costa Rica indefinitely. This investigation is closed.’
Lewis was 59 when he was last seen and would be 81 today if he were alive.
Carole Baskin, 61, told British television in 2021 that her ex-husband, whom she accused of murder, was actually found alive in Costa Rica
Jack ‘Don’ Lewis was 59 years old when he was last seen in 1997. If he were still alive today, he would be 81 years old
In the undated and unconfirmed Homeland Security document appearing briefly on the show, an FBI agent reportedly wrote, “Don Lewis is currently alive and well in Costa Rica.”
“One of the really exciting things that came out of Tiger King 2 is that they produced a letter from Homeland Security,” Baskin said during an interview with ITV This Morning last year.
“They said my husband, Don Lewis, is alive and well in Costa Rica. And yet all this drama was made about my having something to do with his disappearance even though Homeland Security knew where he was,” she added.
Baskin claims the document was issued after August 2002, when Lewis was legally declared dead — and to prove it, he pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security was not established until November of that year, which is true.
She and her new husband Howard also tried to draw attention to it in a blog post published on their website on November 18, 2021 – the same day her ITV interview aired.
In that post, the couple wrote that while the second season continued like the first season to “falsely convince the viewer that Carole was involved in the disappearance of Don Lewis,” it had some “redemptive traits.”
Carole and Howard Baskin said in a 2021 blog post that Tiger King season 2 had some redeeming qualities, as it revealed Lewis routinely flew small planes to Costa Rica and could have reached the country undetected
The Homeland Security investigation report featured in the Netflix series concludes: “Lewis may remain in Costa Rica indefinitely. This investigation will be closed’
Joe Exotic (pictured), real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is now serving a 21-year sentence for hiring two hitmen to kill Baskin
They wrote: “Season 2 confirms that he was still flying aircraft without a license and therefore could have descended across the Gulf, that he could have flown to Costa Rica on small planes, stopping en route.”
It also referred to money he illegally brought to Costa Rica before his disappearance.
“He brought large amounts of money to Costa Rica and, more importantly, dealt with dangerous individuals who may have been responsible for his death,” they wrote.
It’s not clear why this alleged piece of evidence that Don Lewis was found after his alleged death in Costa Rica suddenly went viral and why it was ignored by Tiger King fans when season two first aired.
Baskin is the owner of Big Cat Rescue, a sanctuary for exotic cats. The claim that she was guilty of murdering Lewis and feeding his corpse to Tiger went mainstream after being raised by Joe Exotic.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 21-year sentence for hiring two hitmen, including an undercover FBI agent, to kill Baskin.
In January 2022, a federal judge denied his motion to commute the sentence.