Zoekeeper named “Joe Exotic” Indicted for Murder-for-Hire Plot against ‘Rival’ Zookeeper in Florida

 

Joe Exotic

An Oklahoma zookeeper, who ran a big-cat shelter and billed himself as “Joe Exotic“, has been indicted and arrested for attempted murder-for-hire for attempting to hire multiple hitmen to kill the CEO of a an animal sanctuary in Florida. Joe “Exotic” Maldanado-Passage, 55, who ran a tiger petting zoo in Oklahoma, had a years-long feud with Carole Baskin, the CEO of Tampa’s Big Cat Rescue, regarding the efforts of animal sanctuaries to effectively boycott Exotic’s travelling zoo for what it claimed were harsh treatment of young tigers. Exotic had retaliated, which led to Baskin suing him, and being awarded judgment against him in excess of $1 million dollars. Exotic has allegedly offered to pay two different people to murder Baskin, but authorities were able to foil his efforts. He has previously made threats to Baskin, and even broadcast them himself on Youtube. The case is in the Federal system, presumably due to the interstate issues of his scheme.

Exotic has garnered some notoriety for his ill-fated campaigns for President and Governor of Oklahoma. Take a few minutes to watch, it’s indescribable…

Woman Accused of Killing her Husband with Eye Drops

Lana Clayton

This is the first case I’ve ever seen of murder with Visine. When Steven Clayton was found dead in his home in July, it had appeared that he had suffered a fall. The funeral was held in the backyard of the South Carolina home he shared with his wife, itself a re-creation of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate. It wasn’t until an autopsy was completed with toxicology that determined the cause of death was a high amount of tetrahydrozoline in his system, a chemical commonly found in over-the-counter eye drops. His wife Lana Clayton, 52, later admitted to authorities that she had spiked her husband’s water with eye drops over a three-day period prior to his death. No motive has been revealed, but it appears she had posted about his infidelity a few years back on social media. It appears she was in nursing for the VA, so she likely would have known the toxic properties of the eye drop chemical.

 

Homicide by Wedgie* Killer Pleads Guilty (*Atomic Wedgie)

Brad Davis Mug Shot

Brad Lee Davis killed his own stepfather last year by giving him an “atomic wedgie” (that is, pulling his underwear all the way over his head). The elder man was asphyxiated by the the elastic band from the garment that ended up around his neck. Prosecutors initially sought first-degree murder charges, but reached a deal where Davis plead guilty this week to a lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. That charge carries a four-year minimum, but prosecutors indicate they are still going to seek a 35-year sentence when the case goes before the judge for sentencing.

And this seems like the rare story that didn’t happen in Florida!