Jeff Johnson, the previous reptile seller seen in Netflix’s Tiger King has died, Oklahoma City Police confirmed to Deadline right this moment. His reason behind demise was declared a suicide. He was 58.
Johnson’s look on the present was not lengthy, however it was memorable. In Episode 4 of Season 1, Johnson make clear the animosity between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin saying, “Carole’s lawyers are vicious and they go after anybody involved…So everybody that had been involved all got dragged into court.”
According to the police report, Johnson shot himself on September 8 of this 12 months after an argument along with his spouse. He was alive when first responders arrived, however pronounced useless on the hospital.
It’s been a foul couple months for the Tiger King household. Just days earlier than Johnson’s demise, Erik Cowie, a zookeeper featured on the Netflix collection, died on September 3. The reason behind Cowie’s passing was acute and power alcohol abuse, in keeping with the New York Medical Examiner. He was 52.
Exactly one month after the zookeeper’s passing, present star Joe Exotic, who’s in jail for his half in a murder-for-hire plot, requested for a compassionate launch as a result of he stated he has “aggressive cancer.” The giant animal aficionado claimed he didn’t need sympathy for his situation however stated if remedy fails, he desires to be launched to “enjoy what life I have left with my loved ones!”
Courtesy of Netlix
The second season of the Netflix collection premiered on November 17.
Jeffery Lynn Johnson, who appeared on Netflix’s hit docuseries, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” has died at 58.
Johnson died in an obvious suicide throughout an argument along with his spouse, Charity, the Oklahoma City Police Department advised CNN.
The reptile seller was interviewed within the fourth episode of the Netflix present.
The police report indicated that officers had been known as to Johnson’s house after 10 p.m. on Sept. 8 for tried suicide, CNN reported.
Charity advised authorities that her husband killed himself in entrance of her throughout their argument within the storage. Their youngsters, ages 4 and 5, had been in the home in the course of the time of the incident.
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Johnson was taken to the hospital shortly after he was discovered to have a pulse on the scene, in keeping with the police report, however he was pronounced useless on the hospital. The report additionally indicated that Johnson had “no mental health history.”
“Tiger King” star Joe Exotic’s lawyer confirmed that he spoke to Charity following the tragedy.
Johnson’s demise comes after fellow “Tiger King” star and zookeeper Erik Cowie’s passing. Cowie was discovered useless on Sept. 3 in New York City and the medical expert decided that his reason behind demise was “acute and chronic alcohol use” in a fashion that was “natural.”
The second season of the extensively fashionable collection dropped on Netflix on Nov. 17. Exotic, whose actual identify is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is at present serving jail time for paying a hitman to kill animal rights activist Carole Baskin.
The former zookeeper, 58, solely conversed with The Post through a written letter he despatched from jail, claiming that the present’s second season proves him to be “innocent.” He additionally claimed that former president Donald Trump was “a fool” to not pardon him and that President Joe Biden ought to grant him clemency.
“President Trump was a fool not to pardon me,” Exotic wrote. “Before the election, millions of people were hoping for it as they know I’m innocent, most of this is in TK2 [‘Tiger King 2’] and it will be the same for President Biden, the world will know the truth [when the new season is released] and him and VP [Kamala] Harris ran on justice and prison reform.”
“It would be in the interest of American Justice for President Biden to pardon me before the holidays and charge those with perjury and other suitable charges, or the injustice is really going to cost votes in 2022 as the people wonder if this could happen to them under his watch,” he added.
The actuality star continued, “For 3 years they ‘the Government’ has kept me in isolation, blocked numbers and reporters from my phone, rejected any email that tells the truth to my attorneys, kept me from talking to the press and monitored every legal call I’ve had.”
Jeff Johnson, identified to Netflix viewers because the reptile seller who was featured in Tiger King, has died at 58, in keeping with police.
Johnson died on Sept. 8 by suicide following an argument along with his spouse of their house’s storage, the Oklahoma City Police Department confirms. In an incident report obtained by PEOPLE, police stated Johnson was in entrance of his spouse when he shot himself.
The report states that Johnson’s spouse instantly known as 911 and when native authorities arrived on the scene, he nonetheless had a pulse. However, Johnson was pronounced useless upon arrival at a neighborhood hospital.
Police stated the couple’s youngsters had been additionally house when the incident happened and Johnson was not identified to endure from any psychological sicknesses previous to his demise.
Johnson made a quick look in season 1, episode 4 of Tiger King, which premiered in 2020, the place he spoke about animal-rights activist Carole Baskin.
The Netflix docuseries captured the nation’s consideration at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic final 12 months, documenting the Oklahoma huge cat zoo operated by Joseph Maldonado-Passage, in any other case often known as Joe Exotic. In April 2019, Maldonado-Passage was discovered responsible in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his rival, Baskin. He was sentenced in 2020 to serve 22 years in jail for that and different crimes, which included killing tigers to make room for extra huge cats at his unique animal park.
Cowie died on Sept. 3 from acute and power alcohol use in his Brooklyn, New York residence, PEOPLE confirmed on the time. His method of demise has been decided as pure.
Prior to his demise, Cowie labored alongside Joe Exotic as one of many zookeepers on the ill-fated G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood. Cowie testified in opposition to Joe Exotic within the case.
