"48 Hours" "Tiger King" mystery: Famed attorney claims new witnesses in millionaire's disappearance
CBSN
Celebrity attorney Alex Spiro is entering the world of Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. The former New York City prosecutor turned lawyer to stars such as Jay-Z and Mick Jagger has been hired by Don Lewis' daughters to help solve the Tampa millionaire's 1997 disappearance. He tells the latest in that investigation — including, he claims, the existence of new witnesses — to "48 Hours" correspondent Richard Schlesinger in "The Missing Millionaire: A 'Tiger King' Mystery," airing Saturday, January 1, 2022 at 10/9c on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Lewis was reported missing by Carole Baskin, who was married to him at the time. She's a big cat owner and animal rights activist made famous for her ongoing feud with Joseph Maldonado-Passage — better known as Joe Exotic — in Netflix's wildly popular "Tiger King" series, now in its second season. Baskin succeeded in shutting down Joe Exotic's Oklahoma big cat zoo, and he was convicted for a murder-for hire plot targeting her.
Even from federal prison, he claims Baskin is the real killer responsible for her husband's death. He's fanned the fires of elaborate theories — such as Lewis being fed to tigers. Another popular rumor is that Lewis was dropped out of a plane into the Gulf of Mexico. Spiro says he's trying to cut through the noise and speculation in attempt to finally learn the truth in this nearly 25-year-old mystery.