December 26, 2007
John Doe 116: SF Zoo Tiger Attack Victim 17-Years-Old
Update: The murdered teen has been identified as Carlos Sousa, Jr.
As the investigation continues into Christmas Day's gruesome tiger attack at the SF Zoo, it turns out that the guy killed by Tatiana the tiger was a 17-year-old boy from San Jose. Unidentified at this point, and currently stuck with the moniker "John Doe 116," it seems that he also knew the tiger's two other victims, 19- and 23-year-old brothers from San Jose. The first attack occurred 300 yards from the second and third attacks.
Lora LaMarca, a zoo spokeswoman, said this morning that officials still have no idea how the animal escaped from its grotto, which is surrounded by a 15-foot-wide moat and a 20-foot high wall. Police on Tuesday night refused to rule out the possibility of carelessness or criminal activity, and zoo officials said the tiger did not escape through the grotto's only door.
She went on to say that if, in fact, someone released the tiger intentionally while visiting the SF Zoo, "it would be considered a crime." Yikes. An individual's fault? The Zoo's fault? God's fault? Your fault? We shall see. But for now, anyone who might have witnessed Tatiana's escape on Tuesday or the attacks is urged to call authorities at 415-553-0123.
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Were Siegfreid and Roy in town?
When I get mauled by an exotic animal and the Chronicle isn't ready to name me publicly, I would like to be referred to as "Stone Cold 1:16".
I think this is the victims myspace page:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=44515158
I worked at the SF Zoo for a few years. Part of me is shocked this happened, part of me isn't.
Either way it is so sad!
Intentionally letting the tiger out is such a remote and crazy idea that it hardly seems like mentioning at all.
I wouldn't be surprised if those three kids had something to do with Tatiana escaping.
WTF? The zoo doesn't have any surveillance or security cameras?
I'm really surprised they waited this long to ask for witness accounts.
I agree AlamedaAnnie.
Seriously, when will something be done about the sorry state of San Francisco law enforcement? Someone should have been rounding up witnesses at the time this happened. In most other cities there would be investigators from the DA's office and the PD at the scene immediately doing that kind of thing at the same time as the ambulance was there. I guess we can only hope they did that but haven't reported it yet. But from Heather Fong's typically bumbling press conference today, they make it look like they just got around to collecting evidence today. Great.
Imagine yourself as a tiger, held in captivity at the local zoo. This isn't Disney, this isn't Madagascar, it's reality. You're hungry, lost, dazed and confused and to top it all off, annoying people come and stare at you for hours every day. Maybe you've even been mistreated several times in the past. You might even come to hate humans - fear them. As a tiger, your natural instinct is that of a predator. It's what you are and how you should be, but instead you are spending your entire life behind bars in a mockery of your natural habitat. As if the stress isn't enough, here comes three so-called "good" kids (hanging out on xmas night, stupiding around at the zoo yea right). Something transpires that causes you, the tiger, to become so enraged that you either leapt onto the fence or escaped by some other means. Your instinct takes over and you methodically stalk and kill your prey. One dies of his extensive injuries and the other two somehow make it out alive. So who's at fault here?