Neighbours of William Chapman, the man killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, have described him as a "harmless young man" who came to Doncaster for a "fresh start" and never spoke of his past.
Neighbours recall a quiet man
Kelsey Smith, 18, and Joshua Anderson, 23, moved into the block of flats where Chapman lived in July 2026. They said Chapman was a man "who didn't have many people around him" and would "keep himself to himself".
Kelsey, a barmaid, works at the bar round the corner from the flats. She said Chapman would go in once a week and order an orange juice or half a John Smith's.
Joshua, a warehouse worker, said he felt Chapman came to Doncaster for a "fresh start" and that they never saw any family visit his flat. He said Chapman never said why he was in Doncaster, or if he was receiving any mental health care.
Inquest findings
During an inquest into Chapman's death, it was heard he died of "multiple traumatic injuries and animal interaction" after he climbed into the tiger enclosure at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Senior coroner Nicola Mundy said he had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered previous bouts of psychosis.
The inquest also heard Chapman was under adult mental health services in Doncaster but was "highly functioning and independent, with no care requirements".
Character and habits
Joshua said he would often see Chapman sitting alone at a bus stop with his headphones on, and that Chapman told him he often went hiking, including into the Peak District. He described Chapman as a "frequent customer" in the Ballers Club down the road over the past two years or so.
"He would not socialise at all; he'd struggle to ask for, like, his order of a drink or whatever he wanted, which frequently was a John Smith's or a pint of orange juice, but he would never over-drink," Joshua said.
Kelsey said Chapman seemed like someone who could "take care of himself" and could hold a conversation. "Whenever you would speak to him about something he enjoyed, like F1, his world would light up, and he would come out of his shell," she said.
She added: "He was really sweet. I don't want people thinking he was a horrible, crazy person; that was not true. William was well reserved with people he didn't know, but he could hold a conversation really well. He would talk to you without any problems."
Joshua said: "He could have potentially misunderstood what he was doing. But now we are speculating. He was a harmless young man who made a fatal mistake."
