01x02 - Gone Ape

[bunniefuu]

[phone ringing]

[ringing stops]

[massage chair whirring]

-[phone ringing]
-Oh my gosh. f*cking idiot.

Hello?

Hello?

Hello?

[crew member speaking]

[chuckles]

I'm getting them big.
[laughing]

Er, well, I-I'm really
conscientious about that.

I won't go too big 'cause
I don't want to look fake.

I just want 'em where they're...

I-- what you call kissable,
I guess.

I don't know
what you want to call it,

but I want 'em
peaked up though,

'cause they look
a lot better if you do.

[phone ringing]

But I've become talented
over the years and can do a lot,

but they don't think you can.
[sniffling]

[ringing continues]

reporter 1: Welcome back, guys.
2:46, happy Thursday.

We've been talking about this,
uh, really interesting case

with the chimpanzees,
and PETA, and sheriffs.

reporter 2: What happened
to celebrity chimp Tonka?

reporter 3:
PETA seized the chimps

with U.S. Marshal oversight,
but one was missing,

a chimp named Tonka.

The animal rights group
PETA did not believe it.

Missouri woman was accused
of lying.

reporter 4: Now, we have tried
to reach Haddix all day,

just before
our 5 o'clock show...

[phone ringing]

Hear that phone going off?

That's life every day.
That gets ridiculous.

-cosmetician: Ready?
-Mm-hmm, as much as I can be.

cosmetician: Okay.

Poke.

Tonia Haddix:
It's crazy.

To me, it's like
a "Where's Waldo?"

And that's what I call
this saga, "Where's Waldo?"

[cosmetician speaking]

Tonia: There are some people
that were saying

that I had Tonka hidden out.

Okay, where am I gonna hide
a big chimpanzee?

Some of the monkey people
kind of found humor in it,

saying that he's in a drawer
someplace in my trailer.

He's, you know,
whatever, whatever.

[curious music playing]

PETA thinks that I'm hiding
a chimpanzee away.

I'm-- I'm the monkey mogul
that's hiding a chimpanzee,

a famous chimpanzee away.

It's pretty hard to hide
a monkey, I would imagine.

Tonia:
A chimp, uh, yeah.

-cosmetologist: Did you?
-Mm-hmm.

Hopefully,
they'll leave us alone,

but I don't think so.

Nope, they're assholes.

cosmetologist: Yeah.

[phone ringing]

♪♪

-Eric Goode: We good, guys?
-crew member: Yeah.

Eric: So, we can start.
So, where's Tonka?

His conditions and whereabouts
are currently unknown.

Tonia: Tonk.
Woop-woop-woop!

Are you a happy kid today?

Brittany Peet: Tonka is an adult
male chimpanzee.

He's in his 30s.

He would weigh in excess
of a couple hundred pounds.

He's a stocky big guy.

I don't know what happened
to Tonka, I really don't.

What I know is that
Tonia's story is not true.

Tonka was passed away.

We had-- what happened
was he, um, had--

had an event,

and we're assuming
it was a stroke because...

Before PETA came
and took the chimps,

Tonka was very ill.

And it's sad,
and-and the timing sucked,

because it was near
an end of a court case.

[cage rattling]

Tonka!

We believe Tonka
had a massive stroke.

We already knew
he had an enlarged heart.

We did an assessment.
His heart was huge.

A certified veterinarian
sent PETA

a certified statement
as well as x-rays with labs,

with everything
supporting that Tonka

was in congestive
heart failure.

The vet begged me
to euthanize him.

He even stated that.

And that's just what happened,
and it's a sad situation,

but nothing we can do about it.

When PETA said that
they didn't think he was dead,

I was just like,
"Oh, really? Is it just--

"Is it time to put this to rest?

Is it--"
Why would she do that?

Tonia: You're not running
very fast, boy...

Alan Cumming: I hope, I hope,
I hope he is alive.

But if he is,
where the f*ck is he?

-[water lapping]
-[bird whistling]

[light music playing]

Hmm.

-Siri: Tonia Haddix.
-Tonia. Okay.

When I was first approached
about the project

and be a proxy director,

I didn't really have
any idea what that meant.

Even when I looked it up,

I still didn't understand
exactly.

But I definitely was a bridge.
I come from the animal world.

I know about animals.
I know these animal people.

Siri: Tonia Haddix.

-T!
-Tonia [on phone]: Hey, dear.

So where are we?
What are we up to?

["Everybody's Talkin'"
by Harry Nilsson playing]

♪ Everybody's talkin' at me ♪

♪ I don't hear a word
they're sayin' ♪

♪ Only the echoes ♪

-♪ Of my mind ♪
-[mooing]

[grunting]

Tonia: Hi, buddy.
You want some grain?

I'll give you a little bit
of grain, how 'bout that?

Come over here.
Come over here.

Kiss. Good boy.

Mwah, good boy.

-[camel grunting]
-Okay, tell me about it.

Say, "I want some grain."

We're definitely not
in Festus anymore.

[goats bleating]

I actually moved up to the lake
in central Missouri.

28 acres.

The house needs,
you know, inundated,

which we're inundating it
as we speak.

Come on.

And we plan to do
a private petting zoo.

[chuckling]
You are something else.

I'm trying to find
four white ponies,

and I'm wanting to paint
their mane and tails pink,

and I want them
to be like unicorns.

I'm gonna put the heart sparkles
on their butts and stuff.

But I want it all to be glitter,
so it's gotta be blingy,

'cause blingy is my deal.

And so, it'd be really cute.

♪♪

I do have a pair of gibbons
which are endangered,

but for the most part,
it's going to strictly be out

of the endangered stuff,

so that we don't have
any issues, hopefully, so...

Huh, kids?

[horse grunts]

Tonia: I do brokering
of exotic animals.

[plucky music playing]

Basically, I'm the middleman.

I can get any animal
that you're looking for,

and I get a brokerage fee
for that.

Any baby or any animal
that I broker,

I usually transport.

I don't trust any other
transporters,

um, to take care of my babies.

I buy the animal from
private breeding facilities,

and then I'll hang onto it
until it does sell.

Or, especially with
this petting zoo,

if you decide you fall
in love with it,

and you keep it yourself.

I would advertise them
on Facebook,

I would just put them
on my page.

Word of mouth
has gotten me way big

compared to what I was
whenever I first started out.

I have a lot of zoo contacts.

That's how they generate
more income,

by selling off babies.

They don't want it
to be known, of course.

There's been a lot
of celebrity clients that buy.

A full linebacker
for the Cleveland Browns,

that type stuff.

I've dealt with
all kinds of people

whenever it comes to
the exotics.

[caller 1 on phone speaking]

[caller 2 speaking]

[caller 3 speaking]

[caller 4 speaking]

[caller 5 speaking]

-caller 6: Gimme a call back.
-caller 7: Gimme a call back.

-caller 8: Just return my call.
-caller 9: Gimme a call back.

-caller 10: Give me a call.
-caller 11: Give me a call back.

caller 12:
Call me back, goodbye.

[caller 13 calling]

My best year of
brokering monkeys, uh, so far

has been about 350,000.

[squeaking]

You can easily make
a million dollars

selling animals
in a year's time.

But I would trade this house
and anything else that I own,

just to be back to where
we were before PETA came

and took the kids.

[clicking tongue]

Hi, honey.
Hi, boy.

I moved to start a new life.

That's just my way of coping
with what's going on,

and the loss of the chimps,

'cause I'm really not dealing,
honestly.

Oh, tell me this is not cool.

These are Connie's chimps.

It really bothers me
that they're gone.

Um, I like to go--
what I call home.

I go to the facility.

Just kind of like
reconnecting with Connie.

At first, you know,
we really didn't say a lot.

I just looked around.

You know,
you expect to see the chimps.

When Tonka was alive,
um, he was a big greeter.

Um, so it-- it was tough,
to be honest with you.

Of course, a lot of tears.
A lot of tears.

Tonky, can you wave?
Good boy.

Can you show me your goggles?

Tonka, that kid.

Anybody that ever met Tonka
will tell you that chimp

is the most amazing chimp
in this whole entire world.

And I know a lot of other
people that own chimps

will say, "No, my kid
was the most amazing."

No.

He was the most amazing chimp
you could ever run across.

He greets you
by sticking out his tongue.

He doesn't have a mean bone
in his body.

His eyes are so, like they--
you just melt with him.

He had me from
the word "hello."

He did movies
his whole entire life

from the time he was, like,
six months old on.

You got a problem, sweetie?

Tonia:
So, Tonka was a humanzee--

half human, half chimpanzee--

because we put
the human side into him,

and he was a chimpanzee.

Want to give me a kiss?

If I cried, he'd wipe the tear
from my face,

because he didn't want you
to cry.

Or he'd reach out
and pat the back of my head

and kiss my forehead.

Whatcha doing?

Sometimes
I'd see him masturbating.

But he was always, uh,
tactful with it,

'cause he always
took his blanket,

and he would always do it
under the blanket.

And I'd say,
"Tonka, knock it off,"

and then he'd come over there--

[Dwayne speaking]

Yeah.

Alan: So, this is a sequence
from "Buddy."

Oh, there's Tonka,
wearing roller skates.

How do you know
that's Tonka?

-I just recognize him.
-Oh, so you can?

-Yeah.
-Wow.

[Alan chuckles]

Eric: You know real chimps
in films can't happen again.

Alan: No. No. Never.

And do you worry that people

are gonna accuse you
of being a hypocrite?

Well, I don't worry about it.
It's true. I mean, if you--

But that's 30 years ago,
and I, I have changed,

and the world has changed,
and I freely, um,

you know, think they're, uh,
th-- they're right.

But I'm standing here to say
that I was-- felt very lucky

to have that experience,
but I realize now

that it was not in
the animal's interests.

[chimp chittering on film]

That's his handprint on--
that red bit.

And there's a scene
in the film where he's painting.

I finished "Buddy"
and I went straight to Europe

to make this really depressing
film in Budapest.

My friend Caroline,
who directed "Buddy"--

so I said, "Oh, I'm having
a terrible time."

One day, she sent this picture,

and I sort of had that
on my wall in Budapest

for all those months when
I was making this crazy film.

It's hard to describe
how you have

a connection with an animal,
you know, or, or a human.

Like, it's-- you just--
something happens.

But ultimately,
it is not a child,

and it's not a human,

It is a wild animal.

Tonia: See, this is a crazy,
crazy animal house.

Hi!
Katie, Katie, Katie.

This is my baby I raised.
Her name's Katie.

She says,
"I want my bottle, Mom."

[quirky music playing]

I'm not a big TV person.

I'm not a big
social media person.

But it's funny because,
you know what they call me?

"Monkey mogul accused
of faking death

of famous chimpanzee."

It cracks me up
'cause I'm like,

"Okay, first of all,
I'm not a monkey mogul."

[chuckles] I'm not.
Secondly is, is um,

faking the death of a chimp,
okay?

For what, what good reason?

I mean, I'm trying to--
I want PETA to explain to me.

What, what good would it do
for me to fake Tonka's death?

Okay, I know for a fact

that PETA would never quit
hounding you.

So, you wouldn't be able
to get to keep Tonka yourself.

So why-- I mean,
what would be the real reason

behind faking Tonka's death?

Because it serves
no purpose for me.

reporter: Joining us now
is Jared Goodman.

He's been litigating this case
since its inception.

Brittany: She has offered
to let PETA search her house.

[Tonia speaking]

reporter: But you haven't
taken her up on that offer.

Jared Goodman: There's no reason
for us to believe

that Tonka is in her home.

She lives somewhere that,
to our knowledge,

doesn't have an enclosure
for a chimpanzee.

Tonka is an adult
and a dangerous chimpanzee.

He wouldn't just, you know,

simply be living
in the house like a child.

Chimpanzees are unquestionably
quite cute when they're young.

But because adult chimpanzees
in particular are so strong,

they are incredibly
dangerous to humans.

-[cage rattling]
-[panting]

They require
specialized enclosures.

[screeching]

They just have so much power,

it is so easy for them
to harm a human being,

as we've seen with arguably
the most infamous

animal attack of all time.

The chimpanzee Travis.

Trav, Trav!
Come here! Come here!

Put your legs around my neck.
Put 'em around my neck.

Put 'em around my neck.
Give me a big kiss.

Come here.

[phone line ringing]

[ominous music playing]

operator [on phone]:
Stamford 911,
what's your emergency?

[Travis screeching
in background]

operator:
What's the problem there?

operator:
Who's k*lling your friend?

[music fades out]

-[ocean waves crashing]
-[seagulls cawing]

[birds squawking]

Kerri DeBlasi: My father
was married four times,

and she was wife number two.

That's it.
Oh, here we go.

Yeah.
Isn't that cool?

That's a nice find.

There was so much
negative news on TV

and in the papers
about Sandy and Travis.

And I would just bite
my tongue,

you know,
just not say anything.

I just want people
to know the truth,

because there was so much
bullshit.

Sandy was funny as hell.

She really made me laugh.

She was a lot of fun
to be around.

One day, she told me that
she's gonna get a chimpanzee.

And I said, "Where is she
gonna get that from?"

And she said,
oh, she knows this lady.

I think her name was Connie,
and she was out in Missouri.

[kids exclaiming]

reporter: Connie Casey, who owns
a company called Chimparty,

she's also in the business
of breeding

and selling
chimpanzees as pets.

Kerri: And she said she's gonna
fly out to Missouri,

get this chimp.

40,000 bucks.

She went out
and came home with Travis.

Cutest baby you ever saw.
Really was.

Sandy Herold:
What are you doing, huh, Travis?

Give me a kiss.
[kissing noise]

That's it, squeeze it out.

Squeeze it.
That's a boy.

I love you.

Pedal, pedal, pedal!

Pedal, that's a good boy.
Hurry up, yay!

Go get her, Trav.

[laughing]

Nadina Truini: I remember
Sandy saying to me,

"Don't you love
this little sh*t?

He's so cute, isn't he?"
[laughs]

Give me some.
Give me-- oh!

Sandy: Oh, that's nice.
Make an alky out of him.

Kerri: Travis was like
any other person in our family.

He was just the one
that couldn't talk.

Sandy was his mom,
and Jerry was his dad.

Sandy: Travis, go see Daddy.
Go ahead, hurry up.

[urinating]

They trained him
to use the potty.

[toilet flushing]

He knew how to use
the microwave.

He would cook for himself
and eat his snacks.

Sandy: We'll have to call
his grandmother Connie up

and tell her how to feed
the rest of the chimps.

Kerri:
They taught him how to drive.

He could steer.

He knew which one
was the gas pedal.

Any time you opened
the car door, he would jump in.

He loved to go for a ride.

They went everywhere
with Travis,

and he was never lonely,
and neither was Sandy.

So, it was perfect.

Nadina: Sandy and Jerry
built a towing business

from the ground up
called Desire Me Motors.

And Travis became the mascot.

Kerri: The police
were always in there.

They were good friends
with all the police department.

Frank Chiafari:
When I used to do traffic,

it would be a common sight
to see Travis.

He'd be waving to you,
had a big smile on his face.

And sometimes they would
pull up next to me,

and I would play with him.
I loved him.

Sandy: Throw it to Dad.

Jerry Herold: Give me the ball.
Give it to me. Hey!

Sandy: Trav!

Kerri: They went everywhere
with Travis.

And everybody
wanted to meet him.

Maury Povich, he met,

and Sheryl Crow.

There was a TV commercial
with Morgan Fairchild.

Morgan Fairchild:
We've been rescued.

From high prices.

Old Navy.
Now, that's a great discovery.

He was just everywhere,
and everyone knew him.

Everyone knew Travis.

This was when
he got so-- so big.

It's like a, a toddler
that gets big,

and you can't control him,
and he's a pain in the a*s.

You'd tell him to stop
doing something.

If he didn't feel like stopping,
he wasn't gonna,

so it was like,
"Knock it off," you know?

When Travis was about
six or seven,

is when Sandy started realizing

that he was a little more
than she could handle.

But that was her son, so she
was going to make it work.

She just kept pretending
that everything was fine.

[distant sirens wailing]

reporter: A chimp in diapers.

Travis, all 170 pounds of him,
leaped from his owner's SUV.

[dramatic music playing]

For several hours,

he commandeered
the intersection,

causing residents
of the neighborhood

to be ordered back
into their homes.

He was running around
the street, spanking people,

and it was kind of humorous
at the time.

reporter 1:
Travis the chimp played

in the middle of the street,
rolled on his back.

reporter 2: Two hours later,
Travis decided he'd had enough,

and came back to his owner.

Kerri:
Sandy said he wanted ice cream.

That's how they got him
back into the car, ultimately.

reporter:
Isn't this the way the movie

"The Conquest of the Planet
of the Apes" started?

"Take your hands off me,
you damned dirty ape!"

♪♪

[music fades out]

Kerri: After that, the laws
changed in Connecticut.

They called it
the Travis Amendment.

If anyone had a primate
that was 50 pounds or more,

they had to have a permit.

But they never enforced it.

Sandy was warned by the mayor
this cannot happen again,

or there will be
serious repercussions.

[solemn music playing]

After the incident, Travis was
confined to the house.

Hadn't been to the shop.

Hadn't been for a car ride.

Everything was being brought
into the home now for Travis.

He went from being
the famous chimp

to the unseen chimp.

[music fades out]

-What do you want me to do?
-[softly whimpering]

Alright, we're gonna go do
something in a few minutes.

-Wait a couple minutes.
-[Travis chittering]

Sandy:
Let him eat, Trav.

Kerri: He was just stuck home
and not be able to say,

"Hey, take me with you,"
or "Please, don't go.

Please don't leave me here."

I had an owie, there, look.

Sandy:
Look, check Daddy's owie out.

Check the owie.
Which one?

Nadina: Roughly a year
after the incident

in downtown Stamford,

Jerry had suddenly become sick.

He was rushed to the hospital,

and was diagnosed
with stomach cancer.

Sandy:
That's the one, yeah!

Nadina:
He never returned home.

[somber music playing]

After Jerry died,
Travis was very despondent

and heartbroken,
just as Sandy was.

Kerri: The house at that point
started looking very different

than when Jerry was alive.

Sandy would go on
a lot of shopping sprees.

It made her happy
to buy things for herself

and things for Travis.

But Travis
was still very depressed.

He was rocking back and forth,
and he did it all day.

I would try to talk to him
and I'd say,

"Travis, it's okay."

You know, I would, like,
just try to distract him.

And he would stop for a minute
and just look at me,

and then he would go
right back to rocking.

What are you doing?
You got so big.

You're a big boy now.

One day, Sandy said to me,
"Hey, why don't you bring

your sons over to play
with Travis?"

My son, Tony,
he's over six feet tall

and he's a big guy.

You wanna come play, Travis?
You wanna come play?

-[Travis huffing]
-Yes, you do!

[laughter]

Sandy:
Yeah, put your pants on first.

Put your pants on.

Here, put your pants on.
Put your pants on, here.

Kerri: He gives you his foot.
Aw, he's a good boy.

Sandy: Okay, okay.
Now, give Kerri a kiss.

Kerri: Aw, he can
check out your feet.

Tony:
Oh, the shoe's going...

-[Kerri laughing]
-I lost my shoe privileges.

Kerri:
Travis grabbed Tony's boot.

He wanted Tony to chase him.

So, Sandy said,
"Chase him, Tony, chase him."

Sandy:
You're a big kid!

Tony: He's a roughhouser.
He likes to roughhouse.

See, look at this, look it.
He has a smile on his face.

-Kerri: Get him, Tone, go ahead.
-Sandy: Easy! Easy! Hey! Hey!

Tony: Chill, chill.
Get him off.

Sandy: Trav!
Trav.

That's enough, that's enough.

-[ominous music playing]
-[Travis huffing]

♪♪

And I was like, oh, sh*t.
Look at that, man.

[music fades out]

Nadina:
February 16, 2009,

Sandy and I had plans,

actually for three o'clock
that day.

She called me and she said,
"I'm gonna be a little late.

"I'm having problems with Trav.

I-- He doesn't want--
he wants to go for a ride."

And now, he took the keys.

[phone line ringing]

Charla Nash had called
at that moment.

Charla would babysit Travis
when needed.

She knew him since he was
a little itty-bitty

when he first came
to Stamford, Connecticut.

Charla was gonna come over
and help her get Travis in.

[ominous music playing]

Kerri:
When Charla arrived,

Travis was right in
the driveway

when she got out of her car.

She did have an Elmo doll
that she had picked up.

Travis was a big fan of Elmo.

She thought this
is the best thing,

to show him Elmo,
he'll be happy.

And instead...

it was horrific.

[Travis screeching]

[screaming]

operator:
What is the monkey doing?
Tell me what the monkey's--

operator:
He ripped her face off?

Sandy:
He tried--

operator: Is the monkey
still by your friend,

or can you get
close to your friend?

Sandy: Please.

operator: Okay, I need you
to calm down for me.

I know it's hard, okay?
I know it's hard.

[dispatcher continues
indistinctly]

I remember on my radio
comes a call.

And at first,
I'm like, "Monkey?"

Frank: And I wait a minute,
I go, "This is the chimp."

[dispatcher speaking]

Frank: I get up.
It's a long driveway.

[Sandy speaking]

Frank:
I see Sandra.

She's trying to stab the thing
with a little knife in the back,

trying to get it.

[Sandy speaking]

[overlapping chatter]

Frank: Now, the chimp
turns around and looks at me.

So, he comes over to my car
and he starts shaking the car.

[overlapping chatter
continues on phone]

[Travis screeching]

Like "Jurassic Park,"
if you remember when

in the movie, when the thing
was shaking,

that's what was happening.

This thing had so much power
and strength.

[car rattling]

I'm not ashamed to admit
I was frightened.

And I took the g*n out.

If he tries to get me,
I'm-- I have to--

I have no choice.
I have to k*ll him.

[police radio chatter]

He pulls around
and he comes to my door.

And I'm looking at him.
We're looking at each other.

He pulls the door right off.

[dark, ominous music playing]

And then he raises
his hands up.

And he growls.

All I see are these big teeth
with blood dripping.

He gave me a second,
and I tell people,

I swear this is true.

I didn't hear it,
but it was like a connection.

And he said to me,
"Please do it."

Like, "I can't take it
anymore."

-[Travis screeching]
-[Sandy speaking]

Frank:
Sandra, stay in your car.

-[g*nshots]
-Sandy: sh**t him!

[Travis screams]

He still didn't go down,
and he just looked at me.

And then, he ran back
into the house.

♪♪

[Sandy speaking]

♪♪

Frank: He ran into his cage.
And that was it.

[police officer speaking]

Frank: After he went
in the house, I got out.

And I saw Charla
on the ground.

I couldn't really see
any injuries yet at this point.

I just saw her body there.

And the ambulance
who was waiting up the block

were allowed to come in now
to take her out.

-[somber music playing]
-[sirens wailing]

Frank: It was a horrendous,
terrible scene.

What he did to her.

Sandy: That's Charlie.
And she was feeding Travis.

reporter 1:
They knew each other well.

Travis the chimp
and his victim, Charla Nash.

The injuries so devastating,
at first, emergency responders

couldn't tell if she was a man
or a woman.

reporter 2: Nash lost her eyes,
her nose, the jaw.

[Charla Nash speaking]

attorney:
Following an investigation

by the Stamford
Police Department,

based on the evidence
presented at this time,

no criminal prosecution
is warranted in this case.

No one made Mrs. Herold
aware in any way

of the risk entailed
in keeping the chimpanzee.

She told me not to tell anyone.

She said if the police
that day had made her strip down

and looked at her body,

they would have seen her
covered in bruises.

Sandy:
Trav, give Kerri a kiss.

Give her a kiss.
Listen, Trav.

Travis was a ticking time b*mb.

She overlooked that,

because she was thinking
about herself.

♪♪

[music fades out]

speaker [on TV]:
This is Maggie Klein,

and this dashing fellow
is called Joe Mende.

Tonia:
Oh, Mr. Tonka.

He is such
a cute little man.

[laughing]
Tonka's like, "What?"

[laughing]

Jared: The issue
of c*ptive-bred chimps

like Travis and Tonka has been
on PETA's radar for decades.

To understand how they
got into this situation,

you have to go back to 1973.

Richard Nixon:
This is the most far-reaching

and comprehensive message
on conservation

ever submitted to the Congress

by a President
of the United States.

Jared: The Endangered
Species Act was signed into law

to protect species
on the verge of extinction.

Wild chimpanzees
were protected,

but those who were held
in captivity were left out

to allow for their
continued use

in laboratories, zoos,
and for entertainment.

-I forgot, I gotta burp you.
-[audience laughing]

[applause]

Jared: With the lawful pipeline
for wild chimpanzees

closed in the United States,

breeders like
Connie Casey flourished.

reporter: There are currently
18 chimpanzees

living in Connie
and Mike's home.

A baby chimp going price
right now is about $65,000.

Jared:
Advocacy groups like PETA

have worked to expand
their protections.

Angelica Huston:
Using great apes

causes a lifetime of suffering.

Don't use great apes
in your work.

Jared: And in 2015, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service

finally declared
that all chimpanzees

were fully protected.

But even now, due to limited
resources or interest,

the government
rarely enforces the law

for c*ptive animals.

That's really where PETA
and our legal team

is able to step in
to help fill the gap.

The closure of a controversial
zoo in Horry County.

reporter 1:
PETA filed a lawsuit. ..

reporter 2:
Eighteen violations...

reporter 3:
Inadequate primate housing...

reporter 4:
The River Zoo in Roswell...

reporter 5: The zoo will be
permanently closed.

reporter 6:
PETA is putting its foot down.

Jared: But there are likely
many more chimpanzees

currently in private ownership.

reporter: Then in July,
PETA seized the chimps

with U.S. Marshal oversight,
but one chimp was missing.

[birds chirping]

Jared: That's really
what all of this is about.

That's why it's incredibly
important for us

to find Tonka.

Because if we don't get him
to a sanctuary,

nobody else will.

That's for you, and...

Oh, my gosh.
No, you know what?

I'm mad about this.
Very angry.

I will not eat these anymore

because they took
the bars off this,

-because PETA required...
-Dwayne Cunningham: Oh!

Tonia:
...they can't be in cages.

Is that not ridiculous?

Barnum and Bailey
had these cookies

for how long?

-I...
-I didn't know.

No, I love them, but I'm just--
I mean, honestly.

See, this is where you--
a lot of people

don't realize how bad PETA

really outreaches
stupid stuff like this.

[uneasy music playing]

I know, baby girl.
Give me a kiss first.

Nope. Give me a kiss.

Eric: So, what makes PETA
so sure Tonia is lying,

and that Tonka's alive?

Jared:
We asked where Tonka was,

because we still hadn't
received proof of his death.

And she said
that Tonka was cremated.

The court had ordered
that Tonia provide evidence.

So, Tonia Haddix
showed me an email.

This email was from a man
named Jerry Aswegan,

and it said that Tonka died.

And he burned him on a burn pit
at about 165 to 170 degrees,

and what was left
was just ashes.

There were no bones anymore.

First, it turns out
that Jerry Aswegan

was Tony Haddix's husband...

um, something that neither
the email nor her lawyer

told us about.

And also, that temperature
is simply impossible.

If you think about
your oven at home,

you can't cook anything
at 170 degrees.

It probably doesn't
even go that low.

But, Jerry and Tonia
stood by the fact

that Tonka was cremated
in his backyard

in a manner that allowed them
to just scoop up some ashes

at the bottom of the,
the burn pit.

I don't know enough
'cause I'm not, you know,

I don't do--
I'm not an embalmer.

I'm not a funeral home director.

I'm not anything
with a funeral home.

But, um, apparently,
when they wrote the statement

initially the first time,
'cause they were in a rush

to get it, um,

they accidentally left off
a zero on the temperatures.

The temperatures were correct.

It was just the zero
was left off.

Dwayne:
By "they," you mean Jerry?

Tonia: Yeah.

I had him write
a sworn statement

and send it to the courts with
the appropriate temperatures.

And that is
appropriate temperatures,

and they can't deny that,
but guess what?

Jared acted like
he never even seen that,

and, and all--
You know, that--

He never would acknowledge
the fact that it was corrected.

Dwayne:
So, you have Tonka's ashes?

Mm, oh yeah.

♪♪

It looks like dirt,
but it's very fine.

If they want to have
a little scoop of the ashes,

more power to 'em.

But I'm tired of him
being an a*s

and insulting my integrity.

I think my relationship
with Tonia

would be accurately described
as acrimonious, um,

and that's mostly from her end.

I would say
he's the devil's spawn,

but I know he has a mother.

He's a b*stard.
He's a d*ck.

I always watch his Facebook page
to see if his wife dumps him.

My God, it's Pee-Wee Herman.

Pee-Wee Herman.
Pee-Wee Herman.

I have voodoo dolls
of Pee-Wee Herman.

Contempt! Contempt!
Another piece of paper!

He checks my Facebook page.

The dumbass accidentally
sent me a friend request.

I very much
look forward to the day

when I can close that tab
and never reopen it.

I tried to run him over the last
time we left the courtroom.

I am going to slap
the sh*t out of him.

I don't want to k*ll him,
I just want to maim him.

He's lucky that he jumped up
on the curb,

or he would
have been ran over.

[friend speaking on phone]

[Tonia laughing]

Her personal attacks, uh,
were so inconsequential to me

that I don't really remember
precisely what they were.

[phone ringing]

Tonia: Okay, guys,
he's calling right now.

Hello?

You know what,
I'm done with all of this stuff.

I am so done with it,
it's not even funny.

The "Where's Waldo?"
type situation.

Jared [on phone]: What, what
"Where's Waldo?" situation?

You don't know about
"Where's Waldo?"

Jared:
I'm familiar with the book.

If you think I like
the situation,

you're really out
of your damn mind.

You don't have the feelings
that I have for those kids.

You don't-- you have not had
to go through everything

that I have had to go through.

I'm so done with this situation

because I'm the one
who got to be villainized.

I went up there
out of the kindness of my heart

to help Connie
and to help those chimps.

If you don't think that
I live with it every day,

that I failed those kids,
you're out of your damn mind.

[Jared coughing]

Jared: [coughing]
Excuse me.

Okay, is that all?

[light music playing]

[phone ringing]

[Dwayne speaking]

Yeah.

Hello?

-Connie Casey [on phone]: Hey.
-Hey.

Tonia: Um, I'm at home.

A little bit ago got off,
the phone with Jared Goodman.

Tonia: Well, uh, him and PETA
were assholes, of course.

-Um...
-Connie: Yeah.

Tonia:
Which I expected it, you know.

[Connie speaking]

Tonia: Yep.

[Connie speaking]

Tonia: Yep.

[Connie speaking]

Tonia:
I love you too, okay?

-Connie: Okay, bye.
-Tonia: Okay, bye.

♪♪

[crew member speaking]

[Tonia speaking]

[chuckles]
Yeah, okay.

♪♪

My husband will tell you
he gets after me.

"Why do you tell everybody
your life story?"

[chuckles] Because I have
nothing to hide,

and because I'm just
an open book.

And so, I'm like,
"Why shouldn't I?"

I don''t understand why I keep
getting to be the bad guy here,

and I'm tired of it.

I've asked PETA several times,

what is it that you want for me
to prove you that he's dead?

So, now I'm asking them.
I'm challenging them.

Prove to me that he's alive.

-[energetic music playing]
-[plane engines roaring]

Jared: We knew that Tonka
was still out there somewhere.

So, we had to exhaust
every possible option

and look for him.

That included
sending folks to facilities

to look around for him.

Jared:
Hiring private investigators

to take a look at places

where we think
he might potentially be.

Of course, monitoring
and scouring the internet

for any indication
where he might be.

[phone ringing]

Talking to individuals
who might have information.

[pigeons cooing]

And really left
no stone unturned.

[phone ringing]

I came to accept early on
in this case

that it was going
to be unpredictable.

But we certainly
weren't expecting

to get a call from a psychic.

Brittany: Tonia's friend
confided to her psychic

that it seemed like
Tonka really was alive.

Tonia had texted this friend

long after Tonka
had supposedly died

saying that she was out
getting groceries for Tonka.

-[line ringing]
-The psychic reached out to us

and we were able to submit
a subpoena

to get copies
of those text messages.

And this confirmed, of course,
what we already knew,

Tonka never really died.

With this evidence,
we were finally able

to get her back into court

to try to find out
what happened to Tonka.

[curious music playing]

Judge Perry [on video call]:
Alright, good morning.

This is Judge Perry.
I'm here in the case

of counterclaim plaintiff PETA,
uh, against Tonia Haddix.

Miss Haddix,
please raise your right hand.

You do solemnly swear
or affirm that the testimony

you are about to give
in this cause is the truth,

the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth, so help you God?

-Yes.
-Judge Perry: Thank you.

Morning, Miss Haddix.

We're here today
to get the answer

to a very simple question.

Where is Tonka?

♪♪

[music stops]

[silence]

Tonia: You froze.

Judge Perry:
Yeah. Um,

Mr. Goodman is not-- is frozen.

[plucky music playing]

Now, everybody's frozen.

♪♪

Jared:
Very sorry about that.

But can you hear me
sufficiently now, Judge?

Judge Perry: Yes.

Jared: Miss Haddix, are you
able to see a document

on the screen now
that says "Tonia"?

Tonia:
It appears to be a text.

Jared:
You said, "I was at Cy," C-Y,

"and could not talk,
no signal."

You see here,
your next message

was that
"Tonka needed groceries."

♪♪

Right.

Which is a capuchin of mine.

I name-- I got a new capuchin,
a rescued capuchin,

and I call-- I named
that capuchin Tonka.

So, I was getting
Tonka groceries, yes.

Jared: Uh, when did you get
this other capuchin?

I got that other capuchin, um,
in, um, January, like Janu--

No, that's not true.
Okay, I'm trying to think.

I got that capuchin,

so it'd be July,
July 5th.

[crying] What ha--
what happened was I went down,

and I went over to the cage
where Tonka was.

And he was still sleeping
while I flipped on the lights.

[solemn music playing]

And he didn't move,
and I kept calling his name.

[echoing thud]

I call him Tonky B, and so
I'd say "Tonky B, Tonky B,"

and he didn't respond, and I--

I watched for breathing.

He didn't breathe,
and I waited for a while.

When he didn't breathe,
we have PVC pipe down there,

small PVC pipe.

[sniffling]
Um, it's small in diameter,

but it's long.

And we went ahead,
and I just went ahead

and poked him
with that PVC pipe.

And whenever he did respond,
his arm just kind of flopped.

And so, I just went ahead
and waited a few more minutes.

♪♪

And then I opened
the cage door, and he was dead!

[wailing]
I gotta stop!

I can't do this!

Judge Perry:
Hold on just a second.

Counsel, we're gonna take
a 10-minute recess

so, uh, you can
compose yourself.

Okay, thank you.

[sobbing]

[softly]
He is such a f*ck' b*stard.

prosecutor: Miss Haddix,
I just want to let you know

that your microphone
is still on.

Okay, thank you.

-You're welcome.
-[resumes sobbing]

♪♪

Judge Perry: Alright, uh,
Mr. Goodman, you may proceed.

Jared: Thank you.

[Frederick clearing throat]

[Tonia softly speaking]

[dramatic music playing]

Frederick "Rick" Snow: I worked
in Bosnia, working mass graves

for the International
Commission on Missing Persons.

I worked in Kosovo as an agent
of the United Nations.

But I've never worked
a case with a chimpanzee,

let alone one that was
allegedly cremated.

So, it immediately
piqued my interest.

My name is Rick Snow,
I'm a forensic anthropologist.

I work with fragmentary remains,
mummified remains,

uh, decomposed remains,
burned remains.

Having read the affidavit, uh,
written by Jerry Aswegan,

uh, red flags began to appear
to me very quickly.

[flames crackling]

The story that was told
was that they cremated Tonka

in a burn pile.

Jerry Aswegan had recovered
ashes of Tonka,

described as uniform size

with no discernible
bone fragments,

and gave them
to Tonia Haddix.

[music fades out]

[car beeping]

[dramatic music resumes]

These are partially fleshed
pig bones and cow bones,

We're gonna be
cremating these today

in a commercial crematory.

They're gonna serve
as a very good surrogate

for what we would expect
the bones of Tonka to look like.

♪♪

[machine beeping]

[crew member speaking]

What?
You asking me?

For what, that?

I think they said another hour.

[dramatic music continues]

[music fades out]

[remains rattling]

This is one
of the larger fragments here.

Uh, you can see that this is
easily identifiable as, as bone.

Most of this
is actually large fragments.

These fragments, or very similar
to it, would have been found.

Dean Achord: So, at this point,
you know, we'll go ahead

and we'll put it
in the processor.

Rick: Uh-huh.

Dean:
And that pulverizes it down

into one almost consistent
type of powder.

[processor whirring]

This is what everybody thinks
cremains look like.

But as we've just seen,

they don't even begin
to approximate powder

until they're put
in the processor.

This is what they said, uh,
represented the ashes of Tonka

and it's simply not the case.

Jared [on video call]:
Is there any evidence to show

that Tonka's body was burned
at this location?

Rick [on video call]:
In my opinion,
it's inconceivable.

At least as it's described in
the information that I've read.

Did you ever explore that site?

Was you ever asked by PETA
to ever explore that site?

-No, I didn't.
-Tonia: Okay.

And I wasn't asked.

Tonia: Okay.

I guess-- I guess after--

I-I guess that's all
I have for you.

Um, that's it.
[sniffling]

reporter 1: Tonia Haddix
often sobbed in court,

so passionately, that the judge
often had to take breaks

as Haddix broke down.

reporter 2:
A PETA lawyer told the judge

Haddix refused to cooperate.

reporter 3:
Haddix fought back, and quote,

“I can't provide him
to you guys if he died,

and my whole thing is,
I know I talk big..."

[reporter's voice fades out]

Judge Perry: Alright, I am going
to just cut to the chase here

and tell you what
my ruling is on this.

There is a lot of inconsistent
and implausible evidence

presented by Miss Haddix.

It is my belief that
Miss Haddix makes things up.

She has done that consistently
throughout this case,

and she's doing it again
here today, I believe.

But does that convince me
that Tonka is alive

and she has hidden him?

No, it does not.

When what I wanted to know is,
is this chimpanzee

alive or not?

And based on all the evidence

I've heard here today,
I cannot say.

I am certainly not declaring
that he is dead.

What I am saying
is that I cannot find

that he is still living,

and so I am denying
the fourth motion for contempt.

If Mr. Goodman were to come up
with actual evidence

that Tonka is still alive,

then I will expect they will be
right back in front of me

with another motion
for contempt.

And there's nothing
in my order here today

that precludes them
from doing it.

Alright, thank you all
very much.

Court is in recess.

Thank you.

[clapping]
We won, guys.

[excited, rapid breaths]

We f*ck' won.

Yeah, but we gotta
just keep him hidden.

♪♪

[phone line ringing]

Hey, I won.

Connie [on phone]:
Oh, yeah?

Yes, I won.
They have to leave us alone

unless they can get evidence
that he's alive, so we won.

Connie:
Oh! Oh, my God.

We won, Connie.

["Gut Feeling/[Slap Your Mammy]"
by Devo playing]

[monkey hollering in distance]

[hooting and huffing]

Hi, baby.

[Tonia chuckles]

♪ Something about
the way you taste ♪

♪ Makes me wanna
clear my throat ♪

♪ There's a method
to your movements ♪

♪ That really gets my goat ♪

♪ I looked for silver linings
but you're rotten to the core ♪

♪ I've had just about
all I can take ♪

♪ You know
I can't take it no more ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling,
feeling ♪

♪ Centered 'round long time ago
on your ability to torment ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling,
feeling ♪

♪ I've got a gut feeling ♪