Chimp's owner won't face charges in attack
08-12-2009 By Oren Dorell, USA TODAY, USA
A woman who was mauled and blinded by a friend's chimpanzee is "at peace" with a Connecticut prosecutor's decision to file no criminal charges against the animal's owner, the victim's lawyer says.
Travis, shown in a 2003 photo, was shot and killed by police after the pet chimpanzee attacked a woman Feb. 16.
State's attorney David Cohen said Monday there is no evidence that Sandra Herold of Stamford knew of the danger that her chimpanzee posed and disregarded the risk.
The 200-pound primate went berserk in February after Herold asked Charla Nash to help her lure the animal back into her house. The chimp, named Travis, attacked Nash, ripping off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids.
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"Charla has said openly that she harbors no ill will toward Ms. Herold," said Bill Monaco, a lawyer for Nash and her family. "Her focus is on what is the next step. And going back to the incident or wishing for prosecution is a step in the opposite direction."
Cohen said there was no record of Travis attacking anyone previously and that he had interacted with Nash many times before the attack.
A state Department of Environmental Protection biologist had warned officials that Travis could hurt someone if he felt threatened, but Cohen said there is no evidence those concerns were conveyed to Herold.
The chimp, which was shot and killed by police, had escaped from his owner's car in 2003 and led police on a chase for hours. No one was injured.
April Truitt of the Primate Rescue Center in Kentucky said she and operators of other primate sanctuaries contacted Herold after the escape to suggest Travis be put in one of their facilities "before he hurts somebody."
"She flatly rejected us," Truitt said. "It seems that the findings are that ignorance is indeed an excuse."
Herold's lawyer, Bob Golger, said: "The events that occurred were unforeseeable. … It was an accident."
Nash's attorneys have filed a $50 million lawsuit against Herold and have served notice of their intent to sue the state for $150 million.
Nash is a candidate for a face and hands transplant and will need constant care for the rest of her life at "astronomical" cost, Monaco said.
Doctors are preparing to move her to a facility where she'll learn to live with her handicaps. Her multiple injuries make the challenge especially difficult, Monaco said.
"Most folks with blindness have hands to help them," he said. "Most folks with prosthetics have eyes to help them deal with the prosthetics.
"She's just a remarkable person of resolve. If anyone can do it she can."
(Bron: http://www.usatoday.com/)
(Bron foto: USA Today)
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