Inquest hears Chapman diagnosed with schizophrenia before Yorkshire Wildlife Park tiger death

Family says Trump’s attack video caused severe distress

The opening of an inquest in Doncaster heard that William Chapman, 24, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but was “highly functioning and independent with no care requirements.” The Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust has launched an investigation into Chapman’s contact with its services, the coroner’s officer Caitlin Brookes told the court.

Chapman attended Yorkshire Wildlife Park on 10 October and, at about 1:30 p.m., climbed over two fences and entered the enclosure housing the 200-kilogram male Siberian tiger named Altai. Brookes told the court: “He was approached by the tiger and the ensuing physical contact between the tiger and Mr Chapman led to him sustaining multiple traumatic injuries which rapidly led to his death.”

Park staff secured the tiger, and paramedics attended but confirmed Chapman’s death at the scene. An initial postmortem examination found he had died from multiple traumatic injuries. Senior coroner Nicola Mundy said her office was awaiting a more substantial report on the extent of his injuries.

Chapman was a self-employed online trader living in Doncaster at the time of his death, the inquest heard. Brookes said Chapman’s family had expressed “a number of concerns” about his contact with mental health services. The trust has launched its investigation in response.

Chapman’s family had decided not to attend the hearing and “were finding things incredibly difficult,” Mundy said. His stepfather travelled to the mortuary to identify him on 13 October. The inquest heard his full name was William Harry Bruce Chapman and that he was born in 2002 in Chichester.

Separately, Chapman’s family said footage of the attack shared by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to his 13 million followers on Truth Social was “deeply offensive” and causing them “severe distress.” Trump followed the post with an AI-generated video of himself play fighting with the tiger, which ends with him and the tiger hugging.

In a written tribute, the family said: “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.”

As a child, Chapman appeared in ITV’s 2009 comedy drama May Contain Nuts and in BBC Learning’s True Stories series, according to IMDb. He previously attended Jackie Palmer stage school in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, which paid tribute on Facebook and posted a picture of Chapman as a child student.

Wildlife and zoo experts previously told the Guardian it was unlikely Yorkshire Wildlife Park could have done anything to prevent the death. The park said staff were receiving specialist support and that Altai, a member of an endangered species, would not be euthanised.

City of Doncaster Council, which is responsible for licensing the park, is carrying out a health and safety investigation and said it would share the outcome with the coroner, the hearing was told. A full inquest will be held on 18 March next year.