![]() ![]() One of the boys pulled out a shotgun and killed Suzy. They ran to a nearby housing development and lunged at a car full of teenage boys who were pulling into their driveway. Travis’s father, Coco, had been captured from the rain forest in Africa as a youngster.Ĭoco and Suzy remained in Missouri, but escaped in 2001. Suzy had spent most of her life at a zoo. Travis was born at a self-styled “sanctuary” in Missouri in 1995, and was taken from his mother, Suzy, three days later, so he could be “adopted” by the Herolds for the sum of $50,000. As such, it offers some poignant background to our work in arguing that other chimpanzees have a fundamental right to bodily liberty – i.e. While this particular case is not related to the work of the Nonhuman Rights Project, it gives distressing insight into the world of chimpanzee ownership and the tragic, long-term consequences when something goes wrong – as it so often does. But she’s unlikely to win this latest suit since the state is generally immune to lawsuits, and the claims commissioner is saying that at the time when she was attacked, the state allowed private ownership of chimpanzees. ![]() Nash has already received $4 million from the estate of Herold, who died in 2010. More than four years later, Nash has been in the news again this week as she attempts to sue the State of Connecticut for $150 million, arguing that officials knew that Travis was dangerous but did nothing about it. When they arrived at her home in Connecticut, they shot Travis dead. He tore off her nose, ears and hands, and blinded her as his owner, Sandra Herold, frantically beat him, stabbed him and called the police. In February, 2009, 14-year-old chimpanzee Travis attacked Charla Nash, a friend of the woman who “owned” him. ![]() But Jepsen said state law on the issue was ambiguous and difficult to enforce, and there was no guarantee a court hearing would have led to a seizure order.Travis and Charla when he was a youngster He has acknowledged that a state biologist had warned that the chimp was "an accident waiting to happen" before the attack. State Attorney General George Jepsen has said the state should not be held liable for the mauling. "And I also pray that I hope this never happens to anyone else again. "I hope and pray that the commissioner will give me my day in court," Nash told reporters following a hearing last year before Vance. Nash holds the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responsible for not seizing the animal before the attack despite a state biologist's warning it was dangerous. She is facing another surgery for hand transplants and will need to be on antibiotics for the rest of her life. The $4 million settlement covers a small fraction of Nash's medical costs, according to her lawyers, who have said she requires care and supervision around the clock. Travis had previously bitten another woman's hand and tried to drag her into a car in 1996, bit a man's thumb two years later and roamed downtown Stamford for hours in 2003 before being captured after escaping from Herold's home, according to Nash's lawsuit against Herold. The chimp could eat at the table, drink wine from a stemmed glass, use the toilet, and bathe and dress itself. The chimpanzee was the constant companion of the widowed Herold and was fed steak, lobster and ice cream. Travis had starred in TV commercials for Old Navy and Coca-Cola when he was younger and made an appearance on The Maury Povich Show. Nash now lives in a nursing home outside Boston. But the chimp went berserk and ripped off Nash's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot to death by a police officer. Nash, 59, had gone to Herold's home on the day of the attack to help lure her friend's 200-pound chimpanzee, Travis, back inside. State Attorney General George Jepsen said the state shouldn't be held liable for the mauling. Her lawyer said the state should be held responsible for not seizing the animal before the attack, because it was warned the animal was dangerous. She reached a $4 million settlement last year with the estate of chimp owner Sandra Herold, who died in 2010. Paul Vance Jr., who denied permission and announced his decision in a news release.Ĭharla Nash was blinded, lost both hands and underwent a face transplant after being mauled in Stamford in 2009. The state is immune to lawsuits unless they're allowed by state Claims Commissioner J. (AP) - A Connecticut woman disfigured in a chimpanzee attack was denied permission Friday to sue the state for $150 million. ![]()
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