The family of William Chapman, killed by a tiger at a wildlife park, have described the 23-year-old as a “bright, warm and engaging young man”.
Mr Chapman was mauled to death when he entered the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, in Doncaster, on Saturday, October 10. His family added in a statement that he had suffered from “significant mental illness over a number of years”.
Family statement
“The family are utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” they said on Tuesday. “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,” the statement continued.
Mental illness and medication
In the statement, his family added: “William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back. Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication. It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process.”
Background and incident
Mr Chapman previously attended Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. In a tribute shared on Facebook, the school said it was “deeply saddened” to hear of the loss of its former student, adding “we loved watching William grow, both as a person and as a performer”.
According to IMDB, Mr Chapman appeared in ITV’s May Contain Nuts, alongside Harry Potter actress Shirley Henderson, and in the BBC’s True Stories series.
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.
The park will remain closed on Wednesday for the fifth day following the attack.
