Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Tiger King: Sheriff convinced Carole Baskin's missing husband is dead.

Episode Date: April 30, 2020

Is Don Lewis, Carole Baskin's missing husband, dead? Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says he's sure of it. Hear what he tells Nancy Grace. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Goodbye, friend. Keep the faith. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Joining me now is a very special guest. It is the elected sheriff of Hillsborough County, Sheriff Chad Chronister. Sheriff, thank you for being with us. It's a pleasure, Nancy. Sheriff Chronister, I hardly even know where to start regarding Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin and Jack Don Lewis. Don Lewis, Baskin's husband, now dead.

Sheriff, is there any doubt in your mind that Carol Baskin's husband, Don Lewis, is dead? No, absolutely no doubt in my mind. I'm thoroughly convinced that he was killed. Sheriff, a lot of people have argued that at the time Jack, Don Lewis, went missing that it was orchestrated for him to be taken out over the Gulf of Mexico and pushed out of the plane. There's that theory. There's a theory he's hidden under a septic tank. There's a theory he went through a meat grinder.

Let's just establish the facts as we know them to be true at the time Don Lewis goes missing. Had there been a divorce filed between them? There hadn't been. He sought a domestic violence injunction against her, but the judge didn't grant it. But still, you have to think, he was in some type of fear or felt in fear of harm that he went and took the steps to try to obtain an injunction against his wife. You know what's interesting about that, Sheriff, is that this is not a man that typically called 911,

made police reports, filed lawsuits. I find it very interesting that on his own, at his age, he went and filed a TRO against Carol Baskin, claiming that she or someone had taken his guns and that she had threatened to kill him. I find that very curious. Yeah, there's no doubt in my mind he was concerned that his wife was going to harm him at the time. Let me talk to you about his 1989 1989 Dodge van that was found at Pilot Country Airport, which is a private airport. Yes, the public can pull into the parking lot, but there are no public carriers such as Delta Delta or JetBlue, Continental. These are private airplanes. What was found in his van, Sheriff?

A lot of his personal belongings, his briefcase. And at the time, before technological advancements, everywhere someone went, they took their briefcase with them. And I think that was the biggest piece that stood out with me. Why would he leave and leave his personal items, along with so many other things, they took their briefcase with them. And I think that was the biggest piece that stood out with me. Why would he leave and leave his personal items along with so many other things? But why would he leave and not take his briefcase with him? This was a business person. This was a businessman. Why would he leave? And like, you know, I've told you before, we checked the passenger manifest. He had two passports. Neither one of them had been flagged that he had left or departed the country.

Or took any flight whatsoever. I don't believe he took any flight, commercial or private. I don't believe he ever got on that airplane. I believe that van was placed there just to look like it was staged for investigators to believe that he had left the country. What was in the briefcase? That's a good question. I don't know. Nothing of consequence that stood out that I remember. I mean, I'm curious.

Was his driver's license there? Was the passport there? Was there money there? Were there documents indicating his purpose for being at Pilot Country Airport that day? Was he intending to rent or purchase a plane? Was he intending to go driving? I mean, do you go flying? His wife said he was leaving for Costa Rica. Was there a manifest? Was there a pilot already hired to go? You don't just walk up to an airport and go, hey, I want to get a plane to Costa Rica. It doesn't work that way. You have to get a crew. You have to get a

pilot for Costa Rica. You got to refuel. You can't make it all the way from plane to Costa Rica. It doesn't work that way. You have to get a crew. You have to get a pilot. For Costa Rica, you've got to refuel. You can't make it all the way from Florida to Costa Rica in a small plane anyway without fuel. Did you find any evidence that he had planned a flight of any type, whether he was flying the plane or whether he was getting a pilot to fly the plane. No proof whatsoever that he had purchased, chartered a flight, or any way, shape, or form left the country. What else was in the 89 Dodge? The briefcase? What about luggage?

No luggage. Only a briefcase and a couple personal belongings. Other than that, that's it. That's what makes it even more suspicious. If you're planning on leaving somewhere, you think that you'd have a lot more items. What about keys? I believe the keys of the van were in it, were left in it. When you say other personal items, such as what?

Oh, I believe there was a wallet, a couple of documents, but again, things that you would normally believe a businessman would have in his suitcase. Nothing that would stand out to say, hey, listen, this person, this person had left or this person was still there. Again, I think the whole thing was nothing but a sophisticated plan. I think there was more than one person because it was so sophisticated and complex. But again, this individual was murdered, and this individual never left the country. Well, the fact that you say his wallet was there indicates to me even more so that he didn't go anywhere. Do you know if his driver's license was recovered? I don't remember, Nancy. Like I said,

I remember the wallet and a couple other things. There was a laundry list, but again, I don't remember anything of consequence. And that the keys were there. Do you happen to recall if the vehicle was locked or unlocked? I believe it was unlocked. I believe it was unlocked with the keys in it with his briefcase. I think it was staged and meant to appear like someone had just pulled up, parked, and I think they wanted us to believe that he never intended on returning and that he had left. And again, that's just simply not the case. There's no proof whatsoever to indicate that he ever left the country. And all the interviews that the detectives conducted in Costa Rica,

even all the individuals they interviewed down there, everyone had come up with one common theme, and the common theme was they hadn't seen him in at least six months surrounding his disappearance. Now, in Costa Rica, he had an estate, a home, a lot of land, a butler, and a mistress. Is it your belief after investigating that he never went to Costa Rica? I firmly believe that he never made it to Costa Rica. The security guards that we interviewed, they hadn't seen him in six months. His mistress hadn't seen him in six months. The property manager hadn't seen him in six months. The property manager hadn't seen him

in six months. Some other people that he dealt with in business down in Costa Rica hadn't seen him in six months. There's no doubt in my mind, whatever happened, he never made it to Costa Rica. Somebody just wanted to lead investigators to believe that that's exactly what he did when essentially he never left. Was there a dictionary in the car? I don't remember, Nancy. I don't remember. So let me get back to where his car was parked in the parking lot. So you drive into Pilot Country.

Based on what I've been told from people that worked at Pilot Country, if you're sitting on the inside, you can see a car pull up and see it sitting there parked. And it's like a car in your driveway. It's so small. You would notice a car of someone that did not work or was not supposed to be there. But nobody saw that car get parked there,

and nobody saw Don Lewis. Do you agree with that? I do agree with that. It's a very small airport. Those residents that live around there still live there today. And I believe, again, it went back into this complex, sophisticated plan where whoever was involved in this staged that car sometime in the overnight hours where when they believed, and rightfully so, someone wouldn't see them dropping that car sometime in the overnight hours where when they believed, and rightfully so, someone wouldn't see them dropping that car off. Let's talk about the night before the day he goes missing. Oh, one more thing. Was the vehicle printed, dusted for prints?

Oh, absolutely. No, they went over that with a fine-tooth comb. They processed the entire van for evidence at the time, 23 years ago when this occurred. How much later was it that it was printed? Oh, I think it was a day or two later. She waited a day to even call to say that he had disappeared, and then I think it was a day or two after that, no more than two days, that investigators had located the van at that airport. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

You were mentioning that you believe his Dodge was parked the night before he went missing. What was Carol Baskin doing that night? Well, she says that she couldn't sleep, that one of the Tigers needed some milk, I believe. So she had drove to a 24-hour grocery store that was only a few miles within her home and went to get some milk for the cats. So you can feed a tiger Borden's milk out of a carton? I didn't know that. I thought they had something special.

Maybe a cub. Maybe it was for a cub. But her testimony was that she was gone the night before, went to an Albertsons grocery store, went there. Her car broke down. She had to get a ride back home. And she went to bed. I think it was around 3, 3.30 in the morning. She had woke up at 7, 7.30 in the morning. Don was instructing her to get the big cargo truck ready, that they were

going to take supplies, drive to Miami and head to Costa Rica. He was going to run an errand and he would be right back. And that was the last time she says that she has seen him. Anyone else that we talked to said that it had been a day or two prior to that that they had seen Don Lewis. So was she supposed to go with him to Costa Rica? That's my understanding. My understanding, the two of them were going together. She was helping him pack the truck. They were going to drive to Miami and head to Costa Rica.

That's what I was led to believe. But when did she report him missing? I believe almost two days later. So if she was supposed to go to Costa Rica with him and he left to go run an errand and they were getting everything packed to go, when did she notice he didn't come home? Again, that was her story. And again, when you talk about things that are suspicious,

if your husband or wife tells you, I'll be right back, I'm going to run an errand, you get this other truck, start putting supplies in it, I'll be right back. Wouldn't it be suspicious that you would wait a day later and talk to some of your friends and someone would say, oh, you should probably report him as missing? Okay, I know he had two passports.

One was under his first name, which is Jack Lewis. The other one was under Don Lewis. Both of those were found where? I don't know the answer to that. Good question. But they were found. Oh, no, they were both found. And, again, they were both, neither one of them had been flagged that during that time period that she's claiming he disappeared.

None of them had been flagged. Neither of them had been flagged that he had left the country or arrived in some type of other country of, I should say, not origin, but some other country. Okay, I understand. So she waits a full 24 hours at least before she reports him missing, but I'm still hung up on the 3 a.m. emergency tiger cub feeding. I mean, this is an animal sanctuary. And I would believe that when you've got a baby tiger that you prepare to take care of it. And you're not out in a car at 3 o'clock in the morning trying to buy human food or cow's milk. That said, I'm not a veterinarian. I'm just a lawyer. But 3 a.m. she's driving around. Did she ever go to a grocery store and buy milk?

She did go. She did go. She did buy it. Again, her car broke down. She had to get a ride back home. How do you know that? Well, I tell you what, it's an interesting story how we know that. She had contacted her brother, who was a deputy sheriff with this agency, during that time. He was not too far away. He had a burglary suspect under arrest, so he had asked for one of his other friends, another deputy, to please take her to the home. So another deputy sheriff did pick her up from the Albertsons and give her a ride back to the animal sanctuary. Okay, you know what? You just stepped in a can. You just opened up a can of worms. Let's talk about it because if you dare to Google yourself, you're going to find out that there's a conspiracy theory going on and a suggestion of a cover-up.

So let's just grab the bull by the horns, Sheriff. So she had a brother on your force, on the Sheriff Department force, and he was working that night. What do you say to claims that he helped her cover up a murder and that he helped her that night? I would say those claims are false. We can track it back. Now, if he was in service, then you have a little harder time trying to justify what may have happened that night. But he was actually assigned to a call. He had actually had someone under arrest. Someone was in his car. He went the booking door in that time.

So I think investigators back 23 years ago had those very same questions. But any type of theory of cover-up is dispelled when you can track back and see that his actions that night were accounted for. So are you telling me he sent somebody else to help her? I believe that's what I was told, is that she had contacted him knowing that he was awake. He had another deputy go and give her a ride back to the house or help her get

the car running again it was one of one of the two well i gotta tell you something uh i've done a lot of crazy things but that when i look back i think what was i thinking but i gotta rethink this whole going out for milk at three o'clock in the morning for a baby tiger because that's that's kind of it doesn't hang together for me but I can't I can't I can't I can't argue that point I agree if you have a big cat sanctuary and you have cubs you would think you're going to be prepared for any type of scenario especially knowing that these cubs have to be fed and I'm no cub expert or veterinarian either, but you would think you're going to be better prepared because those cats have to be fed.

Even if it's milk, they have to be fed. You would think you would be better prepared and wouldn't have to go out in the middle of the night to get those items. So, long story short, you're telling me, best to your recollection, that the brother, Carol Baskin's brother, did not go pick her up. He sent somebody to do it to take her home. One of the things that we do know and that we can confirm is we know for a fact he didn't go. Because again, he had a prisoner.

He had someone who was under arrest. We could interview that prisoner we could account for that time period uh that night before and what he was doing from the time he was dispatched to the call that the time he came into contact with the the burglary suspect did the paperwork met a supervisor went to booking we can account for those hours so we can dispel any type of theories that there was a cover-up or that he was involved during that time period. Let's tackle another, another allegation, and that is that your sheriff's department did not properly process the same,

and I'm talking about his vehicle vehicle that you let too much time pass and it went back to Baskin's before it was processed. Please explain how that happened. Yeah, I don't believe that to be the case. They recovered the car and took it down to the to our evidence processing unit and processed the car, I think, within 24 hours after recovering it. So, again, I don't think there was an opportunity for anyone to tamper with any type of evidence once we gained custody of that, where anyone could taint the evidence for any type of purpose. Once we took custody of it, it was in our custody, and no one else had any type of access to that van. Did the vehicle go straight from Pilot Country to the Sheriff's Department, or did it go home to Big Cat first?

No, that wouldn't be how we would do any type of evidence in a case. Once we recover something, there would be no reason for it to go anywhere else except our office for processing. Okay, so you believe you took it straight from Pilot Country Airport, not from the big cat? No, I couldn't think of any other reason. Like I said, once we take custody of anything, it comes with us. To maintain that chain of custody, that comes with us. Sheriff Chronister, what about the theory that Don Lewis's remains are buried under Carol Baskin's septic tank or that he was put through her meat grinder, which I understand to be about as big around as a peanut butter jar? Yeah, that'd be extremely difficult. And like I said, I think the Netflix series got some things right, some things that they didn't get right.

And they lead some of us to believe that, yes, it was in a meat grinder. Well, the meat grinder wasn't even recovered on the premises. It wasn't at the sanctuary at the time that this alleged disappearance occurred. And then they talk about the septic tank. The septic tank wasn't even installed until several years after his disappearance. So those theories, again, are refuted. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. With me is Sheriff Chad Chronister, the elected sheriff of Hillsborough County.

Sheriff, you know, my expertise is criminal law, murder to be specific. But I have written a will or two in my time, and I've certainly studied a lot more. I've never seen a will that says, if I die or disappear, you get all my money. I mean, you write a will for when you're dead, not when you go missing. And isn't it quite the coincidence that he, in fact, Don Lewis, went missing? Did someone actually believe they could benefit under a document that says, if I go missing, you get my money? It's certainly one of the biggest suspicious items, I think, in this entire investigation, that anyone would create a will. And I've talked to several probate attorneys, and again, yourself,

that has all these years of experience, and no one ever has ever heard of a will with a disappearance clause in it. If I disappear for any type of reason, leave my wealth to this certain individual. And the individuals that weren't included were any of his four children that he absolutely adored. I would say that's extremely suspicious. It gets more suspicious because one of the individuals who came forward and said that she witnessed all the signatures, fast forward from 1997 to 2006, she came forward, said she felt pressured at the time to say that it was signed by everyone, and then she wanted to recant her story and said she did not witness the signatures. Well, who pressured her to write, to sign that she saw Don Lewis sign his will?

Who pressured her, according to her? Well, there's one person that's not here any longer. So I think we could all deduct the fact that it had to be Carol. And I think she says that in her statement. I'm pretty confident. She says that she felt to prove her allegiance to Carol, that she felt pressured into saying that she witnessed those signatures. And again, as time goes forward, she feels more comfortable, wants to get off her chest, calls investigators with our office, and says, hey, listen, I have to tell you,

I didn't witness that will being signed. All four of his children were cut out of the will. What did they say to that, Sheriff? Well, they don't think that that will was in existence. They don't think that their dad had that will. Think about it. Another thing that becomes extremely suspicious, a wealthy person leaves and leaves their wealth behind, leaves their four kids that they have a relationship and love and adore behind, and then leaves this will and question behind. Like I said, you don't have to be an investigator or a homicide prosecutor to know that this is extremely suspicious. Is it true that Don Lewis had a $1.2 million life insurance policy? I knew he had a life insurance policy. I don't know what the amount was. I do know he was worth

that we can confirm around $6 to $7 million. Some even believe his net worth was closer to $20 million. Do you know who the beneficiary of the life insurance was? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Carol Baskins. You better get on it, Sheriff. Sheriff. Sheriff, since the Netflix, let me just say, show, have you gotten any new leads? I understand you're getting six to ten calls a day, a lot of them conspiracy nuts. But still, have you gotten any leads?

You know, at the beginning, it was a lot of theories. People that watch the documentary, watch the Netflix series and say, hey, listen, I know who did it and this is how it was done. But I have to tell you what, now that time has passed and this Netflix series has become even more popular, we have some leads coming in now. Our detectives are following up some leads, conducting some additional interviews, looking into some different. Now, will this become viable? Will these leads help us lead to who's responsible for this death? That still remains a question. But at this time, there's some good viable leads. They're doing some interviews with the children again, with Anne McQueen, his personal assistant, his attorney. So doing a lot more interviews, and it seems like there's a lot, lot more for us to follow up on.

So I have to tell you what, with the popularity of this Netflix series, I feel extremely optimistic that this is what's going to help us solve this case. You know, a lot of people have attacked the Netflix series as being not real or not true. I think that what we saw was true, but I don't think they used a trick camera, but I think that there's the other side of every one of those characters. It's like having a trial where you only have direct examination and no cross-examination. But not only was it entertaining, I also think that it is stirring up leads. Do you believe, Sheriff Chronister, that Don Lewis's will was forged? I 100% believe his will was forged. A don't, a couple different reasons. One, someone who said they witnessed at the time, the signatures, recants her story. And again,

I think the biggest part is the first time ever hearing that someone put a disappearance clause to make sure that they received the full benefits of an executed will. Sheriff, have you spoken to Don Lewis's lawyer who has a theory on what happened? We have, not me personally, but our investigators did reach out to him and talk to him this past week. And what's his theory? Unfortunately, I can't share that because that would, you know, I'm part of this investigation and it being an investigatory lead, I can't share that. I don't know how accurate it is. Only time will tell.

Well put. I want to go back to the night where I like to take all investigations to the night that Don Lewis went missing. Now, he was last seen by people at the animal sanctuary, Big Cat, when? Other than Carol Baskin. I believe at least 48 hours prior to that. So we have a little window there when his disappearance occurred. From the day, almost two days that it took for her to report him, and the couple days that people besides her that hadn't seen him, you have a few days in there that I believe that's when he was killed.

So we've got about a four-hour, excuse me, a four-day window where he could have been killed. Nobody saw him at Big Cat, no one, no banker, no friend, no lawyer. Nobody saw him for about two days before he went to Costa Rica. That's it. No telephone calls, no business transactions. So, again, I think that these are more details that only make this death more suspicious and only lead us to believe that, again, it was a homicide. And you and your staff investigated that regarding banking transactions, meetings, you know, day timers, where he was supposed to be.

Nobody at Big Cat saw him. Nobody but Carol Baskin saw him, according to her, in the two days leading up to his disappearance. And then you got another two days before he was reported missing. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay, four-day window. We know, most likely, he did not go out of the country because he didn't take his passports, and we don't know of a third passport. Is that correct? And he never chartered a plane. There's no record that he chartered a plane and

even went with someone else, even if he decided, hey, I'm flying without anything. Again, just I feel confident in saying that he never left this country. Now, what theory is your working theory about how he was killed? I'm not sure. I feel confident that he was killed. Who did it? How it was done? That's the missing piece that we need to try to solve this case. Well, didn't you tell me at one point you thought he went up in a plane and was pushed out into the Gulf?

No, I didn't say that. No, someone else must have told you that. I had heard that theory. I heard that theory that whoever he was with halfway through the Gulf pushed him out of the plane. I heard that same theory, but that didn't come from me. So there is the theory circulating that he went up in a plane and was pushed out into the Gulf of Mexico. But that would require at least one other person because a pilot can't stop flying the plane and push somebody out of the plane. I don't think they can anyway.

Which would suggest to me that more than one person is involved. Do you believe more than one person is involved in Lewis' murder? I wholeheartedly believe this is so complicated, so sophisticated, so complex, that there was at least more than one person that committed this homicide and staged this entire theatrical, if you would, if you, a lack of a better term, theatrics here at the airport and everything else to lead anyone to believe that he had fled the country and just left everyone behind when indeed there's no doubt in my mind that he was killed right here in our country how it was done how many people were

involved and and who's responsible for this we're gonna find out sheriff croster what was at the home when your people got there were bags packed did it look like they were planning a trip to leave i'm not i'm not sure nancy i don't i don't remember those detail a lot of the questions that i asked during the briefing with the investigators that was one thing i do remember a comment that that they were packing the leave but whether there were suitcases and what was there and how staged this whole sanctuary was with the cargo truck, I don't remember that. What was her demeanor at the time? I don't believe, I mean, she was cooperative, but I don't believe at any time, including now, I don't believe she ever appeared overwhelmingly heartbroken that her husband was missing. I don't know if it's because he had another life with a mistress down in Costa Rica,

if she knew this marriage was coming to an end. But again, my wife is my world. If it was yesterday, today, or 20 years from now, I would dedicate my life. I would post rewards everywhere. There would be signs everywhere. My new life's work would be trying to find my wife. This never happened. Was there ever a reward posted? There was never any reward posted for his disappearance. Was there ever an online plea or a televised plea to help find him by Carol Baskin? Again, it's my understanding there was never any type of overt action taken to try to find out where her husband was. Do you know, Sheriff Chronister, if she came to the sheriff's office day in, day out, week by week, trying to find out what's the latest in my husband's disappearance?

I do know that, and the answer is no. That never happened. Even as recent as 2011 was the last communication that we had for her, and that's when we asked her to come in to take a polygraph, and she declined, said it wouldn't vindicate her of any type of, in any way, shape, or form, and at the same time, it wouldn't prohibit the sheriff's office from taking future criminal actions against her. So she declined to take a polygraph, and from what knowledge I have in this case, that's the last time we had spoken with her.

To the best of your knowledge, did she ever call back to find out about your investigation on her missing husband? Ever? Not to my knowledge. There was never any type of phone calls made again, nothing overt again, that would lead anyone to believe that it's suspicious that somebody wouldn't be more, wouldn't have a bigger reaction to the fact that their husband has disappeared. Even, even if the marriage had failed or was failing or coming to an end, you would still think that emotion would be there where you would be doing everything you could to try to find your husband. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Have you got any plan to re-interview her? I think we will. I don't think it's in the immediate plans. I think there's a lot more pressing priorities to talk to her children, to figure out exactly for the investigators 23 years later, now to figure out exactly who was Don Lewis 23 years ago. What was his life like then? And then try to build from there.

Talk to the office manager. Probably end up going to Costa Rica and reinterviewing individuals down there. She would probably be the last individual that we would ask. And I don't know for what reason we would have to talk to her again unless we develop any type of probable cause and wanted to go talk to her at that time. Why do you say she'd be the last person you talked to? Because I think with her, and again, I understand why she wouldn't, but I think because of her lack of cooperation, not being willing to take a polygraph, I don't think she's going to offer us anything that we don't already glean from previous interviews or evidence collected. What was their reason? What was her stated reason they were going to Costa Rica?

I don't remember that detail, Nancy. I don't know. I recall that she said they were going to take some vehicles to Costa Rica. And I'm curious if that was ever corroborated. Were there vehicles to be taken to Costa Rica? Was the stated purpose real? Was it corroborated were there vehicles to be taken to Costa Rica? Was the stated purpose real? Was it corroborated? I don't know. Again, with my minimal knowledge of getting some weekly briefings on this case since we've reopened the investigation, that's one of the details that I'm

just not aware of. Certainly one that when you bring up, I'm curious and want to check out. What was his business down there? He had real estate. He had a bunch of real estate dealings down here. I think at one point, if memory serves me correct, he even had a car dealership. But again, he was involved in a lot of different businesses. Like what? I heard that he had loaned money to individuals.

So I think he not only loaned money, I think he was in some development. I think he had some real estate dealings. I think he was involved in an auto dealership. So I think it was a lot of different businesses. Anything dirty? Now, I had heard that some of his dealings in Costa Rica were shady. He was dealing with some shady business characters down there, and business dealings down in Costa Rica were suspicious. But, again, nothing that I personally confirmed.

Well, you know what? That opens up a Pandora's box of who could have killed Don Lewis. Now, you and I know statistically it's the spouse, the lover, the ex. Statistically, that's who did it or who saw him last. But when you're talking about someone with such wide business dealings, as you put it, that opens up the pool of possibilities. Did Don Lewis have other enemies from loaning money, from developing, from his other businesses? We're focusing on Big Cat, but he did a lot more than that. Right, and I think that's why it would be irresponsible to call Carol Baskins, even after watching a Netflix series, even a person of interest.

It's not. There are other people who benefited by his death. So I think, again, that's why it would be irresponsible. And as much as some people watch the documentary and say, oh, it has to be her. Just like you said, throughout our investigative history, it's usually a spouse. That probability comes in. But again, it would be irresponsible of me to say that she's not even not a suspect, but not even a person of interest at this point, because there were too many other people involved in this. His life was no less complicated than

any of the other, and I hate to say characters, but characters in this Netflix series. And I think the fact that they were so eccentric and so complex themselves, I think that's what made it so entertaining for the 35 million Americans that have watched it. The only sad part is this was true. This wasn't made up. This was these individuals. This was how they lived. Well, his life was no less complicated. I mean, Sheriff, isn't it true that she may have known about the mistress and she, when he

disappeared, she was just fed up and said, fine, you can have him, take him. And that's a plot. That's certainly a logical explanation. Again, I think she was aware of his mistress down there. Matter of fact, I think at some point she alludes to the fact that he loved sex so much and that when she was on her menstrual cycle, that's when he would always fly down the Costa Rica to have sex down there. I believe that came from her. That was a statement that she made. I don't recall asking you that, but okay. Sheriff, I mean, think about it. If I found out my husband, God help him, was cheating, I'd say, you know what? You can have him.

I'd be mad if you didn't. And don't send him back COD to my front porch because I'm changing the locks. And that would be it. I agree. That's a plausible. She didn't get just fed up. That's a plausible explanation that, again, the marriage was over. It doesn't make her more of a suspect.

The marriage might have been over. And that love loss was gone. And she's like, listen, you're cheating on me. You're with someone else. You have a little bit of another life. You're not with me as much as I want you to be with the cat sanctuary. Thousands of acres, a house, a butler, and a mistress. He's all in, Sheriff.

That's not a little bit. That's a lot. No, I agree with you. I'm talking about with the cat sanctuary. He was at the point that he felt that she was spending too much time and money on the sanctuary. And people have to remember, he's the one that opened that up. That wasn't Carol's. He founded that.

He had that when he met Carol. And again, I think that they were living separate lives. And again, I think that love loss wasn't there. And it doesn't have to be because she wanted him dead. It could be, again, extremely logical, plausible that the love loss was just there. But I got to tell you something, Sheriff. I've got to go back to 3 a.m. milk run for tiger milk. I mean, what pet store is open at 3 a.m.? And you run a sanctuary? I mean, having twins, there is no way I would put my head on the pillow without knowing that I would have their bottles ready for during the night. I mean, it's just common sense. It's really hard for me to believe that.

That 3 a.m. milk run is bothering me. And the will, the will, the extreme wealth, you can't turn away from that. Yeah, and the kids that you love, you leave them behind, you leave your wealth behind. Again, the will, extremely suspicious. And again, you have a cat sanctuary. That's your business. That's your life. You know, how are you not better prepared? And again, like you, not a veterinarian, but one would believe that you'd be much better prepared knowing that you have new cubs.

What's your next move, Sheriff? We have a lot of interviews. What are you going to do now that hasn't been done before? A lot more interviews. I think we have a lot more interviews. We have some great leads that have come in now. Now I say great, I can't say viable because we haven't explored them yet. I think once we get past this COVID-19 and we can do some person-in-person interviews, I think we have a lot of work to do. I think the investigators over the past two, three weeks have done a good job of vetting these leads and starting to make contact with Don's children, with the office manager, Ann McQueen,

with Don's attorney, and had some basic conversation. I think some new information has been shared. I think there's a lot of work to be done in this case. But I still say there's a conflict, an inconsistency in the statement that we were getting ready to go together to Costa Rica. He went to run an errand. I don't know what errand. I mean, when my husband goes somewhere, I like to think that I know where he's going.

You know, just lie to me. Tell me where you're going. You going to the drugstore, the grocery store, the gas station? Just tell me something. What errand? What errand, Sheriff? Let me ask you. What errand was he supposed to be running, and he never came back? I don't remember, but, listen, Let me ask you, what Aaron was he supposed to be running and he never came back?

I don't remember, but listen, I agree with you wholeheartedly. We do know where each other are at all times. You know where your husband and your wife are. You're exactly right. I know what he tells me. Well, 100%. But let me ask you this. You know, going back to his disappearance,

would you wait a day if he went to run an errand, would you wait a day or longer before you would report him as missing or try to contact the police or someone to say, hey, my husband's missing? You're exactly right. And especially if I was supposed to go with him. If I was supposed to leave to go out of the country to Costa Rica to help him carry trucks or to get some exotic animals or whatever, if I was supposed to go with him and he never came back, yes, I would report it immediately. If I wasn't supposed to go with him and I thought he was running off to be with his mistress, I wouldn't report him.

I think that's where he had gone. Right? I agree. I agree. There are so many boxes you can check as suspicious, and we just keep talking about more boxes that we have to check. And again, that's why you with your experience, me with my 28 years of experience, we know this was a homicide, no doubt. You know, I just want to go back to that one thing, and I hate to pick on it again, but, you know, the devil is in the details. If she really thought, Sheriff,

that he went off to be with his mistress, then why report him missing? Why would somebody say, hey, you better call the cops? If you thought he took off to be with her, get after it. Go. But why would you ever call the police? So she called police because she thought he was missing. And if she thought he was missing, then she didn't believe he had run off to be with another woman. Does that make sense? You can't have it both ways. Either you know where he went or he's missing.

So if she reported him missing, she had to believe he didn't go be with the woman. You have to get your story straight. You're exactly right. You can't have it both ways. Either he's disappeared, he's with someone, you're supposed to go with him. You have to get your story straight. But again, I think that this whole disappearance plot, I think this murder plot was that sophisticated

that there was some details lost in translation. Sheriff, right there when you say it was a sophisticated murder plot, that's not a random killing. That is not having a poker game and shooting him down over $200. That is not an armed robbery or carjacking. That's not hitting him in the back of the head at Pilot Country Airport and robbing him. Sophisticated means not random. Somebody in his life killed him.

So you can pretty much rule out all other types of crimes, such as, you know, a carjacking, a robbery, shooting at a bar, and then getting rid of the body. This was too planned out for that. Yeah, this is too sophisticated

for one person. and this isn't a crime of passion. This isn't domestic related. This isn't a crime of emotion where you get mad and upset and you kill somebody. You're exactly right. This was a plot. This was a complex plot, staging a car, coming up with different stories, fabricating a will. There were a lot of things and items that go in and that have to be carried out with precision when you talk about a complex murder plot that had occurred. And I think some of the details are not there. And that's what leads all of us to believe that his murder

or his disappearance was a murder and that it is suspicious. You know, I had a judge who was the oldest judge in the courthouse, Sheriff, that would tell every jury, it is your duty to make all witnesses speak the truth impugning perjury on no one. In other words,

is there a way for her stories to be true? Even though to me they seem inconsistent. I think they can be true. I think they can be valid. I don't think that means that they're consistent. I think, I can't say that. There could be a plausible explanation to what she's saying. But again, that doesn't deem it unsuspicious in any way, shape, or form.

A plausible explanation for a forged will, allegedly, which has yet to be proven, a 3 a.m. milk run at an animal sanctuary, a car breaking down, an abandoned vehicle, an abandoned briefcase, wallet, keys, and no trace of a body or manifest. And her getting all his money. And her getting all his money. Don't forget that part. Oh, I did not forget that part. What do you think about hate mail

directed at you regarding Carol Baskin? Listen, whenever you're involved in any type of controversial investigation, you're going to have 50% of the people that think you're a hero. You're going to have 50% of the people that hate you. That comes with the job. That comes when you put your big boy pants on and come to work. And I certainly expect that. I don't pay much attention to it because my job's not to win any fanfare. It's to do the right thing.

And the right thing is opening up this investigation and finally figuring out who committed this homicide. Sheriff, last question. What about Carol? What about Carol Baskins and all the hate mail and the death threat she's getting i mean after this netflix series it's exploded what if she's innocent and she ends up being the target of a death threat well i don't think whether you're guilty or innocent you should ever have to be a victim of a death threat you know one that one doesn't justify the other in terms of means.

I can tell you that she hasn't been that concerned for her life where she's notified the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. We haven't heard from her. We obviously would do anything in the world to protect anyone who may be a victim of any type of violence at any time. If that means putting a deputy with her at all times, if that means putting a police car on the property to make sure she's protected. We haven't heard from Carol Baskins or anyone in her family that she has felt an immediate threat of harm. Sheriff Chronister, the investigation goes on. Thank you for being with us. This is an iHeart Podcast.