Carole Baskin. Killed her husband, whacked him. Or did she?

The Netflix documentary "Tiger King" could be called controversial, to say the least! If you haven't watched it, or nearly wet yourself watching the Tik Tok adaptations, I suggest you go and look at them now! The show follows Joe Exotic, a collector and breeder of large cats and his nemesis, Carole Baskin. Joe went on trial for allegedly hiring an assassin to "take out" Carole as she regularly campaigned against his exploitation of tigers and other exotic pets. Joe has also accused Carole of murdering her ex-husband after he "went missing".

Exotic is currently serving time in prison for his "murder to hire" and is set to serve 22 years. President Donald Trump has said he wants Joe Exotic freed and even celebrities such as Cardi B have also voiced their opinions. The Tiger King TikTok trend is the "Savage" dance to a Carole Baskin version. So, the big question is: did Carole Baskin kill her husband? Let's search for answers using science!

Can't convince me that it didn't happen...

Don Lewis, Carole's ex-husband, has been missing for 23 years and this mystery has captivated Netflix's audience during the lockdown. In the documentary, Carole admits that her marriage with Don was abusive and he had started seeing her while married to his first wife. One of the reasons conspiracies were formed about Carole's part in Don's disappearance was due to his daughter mentioning it on the show. In an interview with the producers and her mum, Don's daughter accused Carole of having fed him to tigers and said, "We were upset the cops didn’t test the DNA on the meat grinder." So, how would forensic teams have gone about investigating this theory?

Fed him to tigers, they snackin'

In a hypothetical world, let's say it is 1997 and the police have decided to call in forensic teams to investigate the disappearance of Don Lewis. Their main suspect is his wife, Carole, and they decide to interrogate her tiger sanctuary. After taking statements from Don's daughter, they have decided to look for human DNA on the meat grinders which are used for preparing the resident's food.

First, they take a swab from the inside of the meat grinder. This sample will later be tested to see whether it matches the DNA of Don Lewis. In order to determine whether Lewis' DNA was on the meat grinder, the forensic department would need a reference sample, a known match for Don's DNA. This sample would be gathered by extraction which is where DNA is removed from white blood cells. After testing, the DNA samples can be compared.

So did Carole kill her husband?

In short, as so much time has gone by, it would be extremely difficult to find adequate forensic evidence for murder in this case. When forensic teams go to uncover genetic evidence, the area needs to have been untouched to allow the best possible readings. If a case was opened now, it is over 20 years since he disappeared and it would be unlikely that any evidence would be found. We may never know what happened but Joe Exotic sure thinks he does! :)

Let us know you're thoughts! Did Carole kill her husband? Check out our Tik Tok (@cellfiemagazine) to see our video!