‘Tiger King’s’ Jeff Johnson Dead by Suicide, Shot & Killed Himself
Another person featured in ‘Tiger King’ has died — only this time, by suicide … one which happened right in front of a family member, so say cops.
Former reptile dealer Jeff Johnson — who made a brief appearance in episode 4 of 2020’s ‘TK’ docuseries to talk Carole Baskin — shot and killed himself in September, and did so in the immediate presence of his wife … this according to the Oklahoma City Police Department.
Netflix
Per the incident report, obtained by TMZ, Johnson was arguing with his spouse in their garage on Sept. 8 — while their children were home as well — and at one point, the man brought a Glock-style handgun up to his head … and pulled the trigger.
Johnson’s wife called 911 for attempted suicide, and when officers arrived … they say he still had a pulse and was rushed to a hospital. Unfortunately, Johnson was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The cops note Johnson’s wife said her husband had not suffered from any mental illness and had not experienced any prior attempted suicide — so it’s unclear why he did this.
Like we said, Jeff’s time on ‘Tiger King’ was short-lived … but memorable in that he explained the beef between Joe Exotic and Carole. Interestingly enough, Jeff and Joe are also said to be one-time pals turned foes. Story goes … Jeff and Joe were cool in the past — as they both worked in the exotic animals world — but had a falling out once Jeff Lowe came into the picture. At that point, Jeff bashed them early and often … and vice versa.
There’s a report that Jeff’s home was actually burned down during this feuding — but it’s unclear if his beef with Joe and JL are in any way connected.
Jeff was 58.
RIP
