The father of a teenager killed by a tiger while posing for senior class pictures has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owner of an animal sanctuary where the death occurred.
Seventeen-year-old Haley Hilderbrand, a student at Labette County High School, was posing with a Siberian tiger at the Lost Creek Animal Sanctuary near Mound Valley, Kan. on Aug. 18, 2005 when the 7-year-old tiger, who was being held by the sanctuary's owner, Doug Billingsly, turned and bit Hilderbrand.
The tiger was eventually shot and killed by Billingsly and a sheriff's deputy.
Randy Hilderbrand of Coffeyville, Kan. is seeking more than $75,000 for medical and funeral expenses for his daughter and mental anguish. The girls mother and stepfather are not involved in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that Hilderbrand wanted to have her picture taken with tiger cubs but Billingsly decided to use a 550-pound tiger instead. Also, according to the lawsuit, Billingsly used only a nylon leash to restrain the animal, and that after Hilderbrand was attacked, emergency personnel had to wait for the tiger to be restrained before they could help because no stun guns or firearms were available.
Billingsly and his father, Keith, opened Lost Creek Animal Sanctuary in 1994. It housed bears, lions, leopards and several species of tiger. No problems with the exotic cats had been reported before the August 2005 incident.
Posted: May 10, 2006, 5:00 a.m. EST