The 'Tiger King' mystery is continuing.
There may be a new development in one of Tiger King's biggest mysteries. In a preview for an upcoming episode of 48 Hours Suspicion, a new witness comes forward with information about the 1997 disappearance of Carole Baskin's husband, Don Lewis.
In Tiger King, Joe Exotic, who was convicted for his part in a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin, claimed that the Big Cat rescue owner killed her husband and possibly fed him to her tigers. Baskin has repeatedly denied the accusations.
In the 48 Hours clip, Trish Farr-Payne alleges that her ex-husband, Kenny Farr, may be connected to Lewis' disappearance. Farr was known to Baskin and Lewis, as he served as a handyman for the pair, taking care of both their big cats and properties.
Farr-Payne alleges to 48 Hours that one night her husband, whom she claims was violent toward her, arrived home with Lewis' van. Farr-Payne alleges that there were guns in the van, which, she claims, her then-husband told her belonged to Lewis.
"'Listen… I'm hangin' on to these right now for Carole... Don's gone. And I don't want you talkin' about him. If anybody calls, you don't say anything about Don,'" Farr-Payne claims her then-husband told her on the night of the alleged incident.
Two days later, Farr-Payne says Baskin reported Lewis missing.
"Everything started kinda coming together," Farr-Payne says. "Kenny's got Don's van. Kenny's got Don's guns. Don's gone and I knew Don was gone the day before he was supposedly missing... Something wasn't right."
When Farr-Payne confronted her then-husband with her suspicions, she alleges that he replied, "Don't ask me questions that you don't want the answers to."
Farr-Payne also claims that a large freezer with a padlock appeared on her porch around the same time and disappeared "about a week" after Lewis was reported missing.
Farr-Payne also alleges that, during an argument with Farr, he threatened her life.
"Kenny had threatened to put me in a grinder, he said, 'If you try to leave me again, I'm gonna put you in the grinder, like I did Don,'" she claims. "I thought he was tellin' the truth... I knew deep down that Kenny had some part in Don's not ever coming back. I knew then for sure."
Out of fear for the safety of herself and her children, Farr-Payne says she kept the story to herself until her then-husband was arrested for domestic violence in 2000.
Law enforcement told 48 Hours that there are currently no suspects or persons of interest in Lewis' disappearance.
Farr has continued to work for Baskin in the years since Lewis' disappearance. The newly announced Dancing With the Stars contestant previously told the Tampa Bay Times that she gave Farr the guns in question after Lewis vanished, adding that she doesn't believe he had anything to do with her husband's disappearance.
Additionally, on her website earlier this year, Baskin wrote that she loves Farr "like a son."
Baskin declined to make a statement to 48 Hours. The show was unable to reach Farr for comment.
48 Hours Suspicion will air Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 10/9c on CBS.
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