William Chapman spent the final hours before his death at a gym and posing for photographs with a crossbow in Doncaster, according to social media images, before travelling to the Yorkshire wildlife park where he was fatally attacked by a tiger.
The 24-year-old, who had been regarded as vulnerable and had a history of “significant” mental health problems, entered the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon.
Visitors said Mr Chapman appeared to be dancing to music through his AirPods while repeatedly walking along a path above the enclosure. Some described him as seeming “not attached to reality”.
Footage recorded by Mr Chapman appears to show him moving slowly towards one of the park’s two rare Amur tigers. The animal, a five-year-old male named Altai, was resting inside the enclosure.
Images shared widely online later showed the tiger interacting with Mr Chapman. Witnesses said the animal pawed at him before biting his neck.
Emergency crews were called to the park at 1.35pm, but Mr Chapman was pronounced dead. An inquest into his death is expected to open at Doncaster Coroner’s Court on Thursday morning.
A friend of park owner John Minion said Mr Minion had been left “devastated” by what happened and was “first on the scene”.
After this newspaper identified him on Tuesday, Mr Chapman’s family said they were heartbroken by the loss of their “amazing son”. They described him as “a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back”.
The family also said he had been prescribed “strong medication” for his mental health, adding that “it will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death”.
William Chapman, 24, died after entering the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon
Footage recorded by Mr Chapman inside the Yorkshire Wildlife Park enclosure shows the camera holder slowly approaching a wooden platform where the tiger Altai was resting
One of the final photographs believed to have been taken of Mr Chapman shows him sitting on a kitchen worktop with a Bible in one hand and a crossbow resting across his lap
A deleted Instagram account offers an account of how Mr Chapman spent the day before visitors made desperate attempts to stop him from entering the enclosure.
Photographs uploaded on the day of his death showed Mr Chapman at a gym and inside a Doncaster flat, where he posed with a crossbow.
One of the first images showed him outside a convenience store holding a can of Jack Daniel’s mixed with Coca-Cola Zero.
Another depicted a soldier figurine alongside the text “SAS”, a heart emoji and the Ugandan flag.
In the hours leading up to the incident, Mr Chapman, a former child actor, posted images of the property where he was staying and tagged the location as Doncaster. One photograph showed a replica ancient Greek war helmet placed on a pillow.
A second image showed a living room and sofa, with Mr Chapman’s shoes and grey tracksuit bottoms visible in the frame.
A crossbow and several darts could be seen in one corner, beside two backpacks, a computer monitor and laundry. Darkness outside the property suggested the photograph was taken overnight or during the early morning.
The account also indicated that Mr Chapman had visited a swimming pool and a gym before his death. In one selfie, he was wearing blue swimming trunks and a blue wristband; the trunks also appeared to be visible among the laundry shown in the living-room photograph.
He is then seen posing at the gym in grey tracksuit bottoms and a black sweater, the same outfit he would be seen wearing at the wildlife park hours later.
A final photograph, thought to be one of the last taken of Mr Chapman, shows him sitting on a kitchen worktop while posing with a copy of the Bible in one hand and his crossbow across his lap.
Mr Chapman uploaded this photo of his living room, showing his crossbow in the corner of the room
The first image Mr Chapman appears to have posted on October 10 in the hours before his death was a photograph of himself holding a can of Jack Daniels mixed with Coca-Cola Zero
In the days before his death, Mr Chapman also posted a picture of himself which appears to have been taken outside the Pantheon in Paris
Several images on his Instagram contained this replica of an Ancient Greek warrior helmet
Mr Chapman also shared this image with the writing ‘Schwestl Kim’ – a possible reference to German influencer Schwester Kim
Mr Chapman had also posted this image of a column, possibly taken outside a church
Also shared was an image of a soldier figurine, accompanied by the words ‘SAS’, a heart emoji, and the flag of Uganda
A crossbow dart is between his teeth, and tape emblazoned with the words ‘150lb Recurve Crossbow’ appears to be stuck to the cupboard beneath him.
In the background, a card featuring the word ‘Grandson’ is on display. The card, matched by the Mail to one sold by Amazon, wishes him a happy birthday, adding the message: ‘Believe there’s nothing you can’t do, there’s only one amazing you.’
Other images from his social media, posted around the same time, may have been taken earlier. These include a photo of Mr Chapman dressed all in grey outside the Pantheon in Paris, an image possibly alluding to a famous German influencer, and a picture seemingly taken outside a church.
It’s unknown exactly when Mr Chapman arrived at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, but it appears to be in the hours after these final photographs were taken.
Guests at the park described how, after arriving at the Land of the Tigers attraction, he danced up and down the 300m walkway above the enclosure where Amur tigers Altai and Tschuna live, listening to music in his AirPods.
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Zoogoer Del Taylor told yesterday how Mr Chapman had approached her while on the walkway and asked her to take photos of him with one of the tigers in the background.
‘He was so happy,’ she said in a since-deleted TikTok video in which she appealed for cruel trolls to stop making jokes about the tragedy. ‘And then he’s come and placed himself next to us and he’s passed me his phone, and he’s asked me for his photo, and if you’d have seen him, without saying too much, you would understand why I’m saying what I’m saying.’
A video clip caught the moment, which took place just before he entered the enclosure.
Mr Chapman can be heard saying: ‘Excuse me, can you grab a shot of myself with the tiger?’ while Altai lies in the background under a shaded tree, playing with a fallen branch.
A woman, believed to be Ms Taylor, agrees and takes a photo, before he asks three times for ‘one more’ picture and then says: ‘Thank you, lady.’
The scene at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday after emergency services rushed to the scene
An air ambulance and police van are seen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon
Just moments later, Mr Chapman then began climbing over the walkway in a bid to enter the pen.
A heroic older woman desperately tried to pull the 24-year-old back down, but witnesses said she simply ‘wasn’t strong enough’.
Mr Chapman then jumped into the enclosure below.
A final video clip shared on Instagram just minutes before emergency services were scrambled to the scene showed him filming tiger Altai, who was resting on a wooden raised platform within the enclosure, as he slowly walked towards him.
In the background, he can be heard breathing heavily as shocked onlookers cry out ‘oh my God’.
When the tiger attacked, Mr Chapman, a former pupil of the Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe, screamed ‘stop’ several times and appeared to make a gesture for ‘bad’ in Makaton – a language system generally used by individuals who struggle to communicate. He also told the 200kg cat to ‘stop being naughty’.
Distressing footage shows how Altai appeared to paw at and toy with Mr Chapman, who was seen sitting and lying on the ground of the enclosure.
Witnesses said the tiger then jumped onto Mr Chapman’s neck.
Visitors were rapidly evacuated and emergency services, including an air ambulance, rushed to the scene, but Mr Chapman was confirmed to have died.
A friend of one of the park’s owners, John Minion, who is a director at the attraction along with his wife Kate, said yesterday: ‘He is obviously devastated and was first at the scene. My heart goes out to him.’
Zookeepers were said to have done ‘everything they could’ to drive tiger Altai off, firing five loud acoustic gun blasts in attempts to scare him.
Two ambulances and a helicopter rushed to the park at 1.35pm, with a ‘black screen’ erected around the enclosure as lifesaving treatment was attempted.
In a statement released last night, Mr Chapman’s family said they are ‘utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
‘The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time. We ask people to stop doing this.
‘The family are hopeful that the relevant authorities will do their utmost to get to the bottom of why our amazing son did what he did.’
As well as being mocked by trolls online, footage of the attack was also posted by US President Donald Trump last night, who wrote: ‘Don’t ever mess with nature!’
On Wednesday morning, he also shared an AI-generated video of himself wrestling with and ultimately embracing the tiger, while The Lion Sleeps Tonight plays in the background.
Mr Chapman’s family added: ‘William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back.
‘Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication.
‘It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death. We would ask everybody to respect that process.’
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which remains closed, confirmed that Altai will not be euthanised in the wake of the incident.
The licensing authority for Yorkshire Wildlife Park, City of Doncaster Council, has now launched a health and safety investigation into the man’s death.
Dan Swaine, executive director of place at City of Doncaster Council, said: ‘As the relevant licensing authority for the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, I can confirm that, in line with our statutory duties, the council has launched a health and safety investigation.
‘We are also working with multiple agencies, including the police and health agencies, and are supporting the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in response to the incident.
‘At this time, we won’t be commenting further on the individual or the investigation and we ask that the privacy of those involved is respected at this difficult time.’
As a child, Mr Chapman appeared in the ITV production May Contain Nuts alongside Shirley Henderson and Darren Boyd.
He also played Edward Jenner in the BBC series True Stories.
