An inquest into the death of a man killed by a tiger after entering its enclosure at a wildlife park is set to open on Thursday. William Chapman, 23, was mauled to death by the animal at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, in Doncaster, on Saturday.
A hearing is scheduled at Doncaster Coroner’s Court at 10am on Thursday.
Family statement on mental illness
Former child actor Mr Chapman’s family said he had suffered from “significant mental illness over a number of years” and was “prescribed strong medication”. In a statement released on Tuesday evening, they said: “It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process.”
Mr Chapman’s family also said “deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress” after US President Donald Trump reposted a widely shared video of the incident.
Plea to stop sharing footage
“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” they said. “The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.”
“The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their upmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.”
Details of the incident
Mr Chapman died on Saturday. Emergency services were contacted shortly after 1.30pm on October 10 when Mr Chapman, who police said was visiting the park alone, entered the enclosure. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Video footage showed him being mauled by Altai, the Amur tiger involved in the incident. There was also footage posted to Instagram which showed Mr Chapman approaching the tiger. Videos of the moment Mr Chapman was attacked have gone viral and have even been shared by Donald Trump. The victim's family have pleaded for people not to share the footage.
