The family of a 24-year-old man who was killed by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park has expressed concern about his contact with mental health charities before his death, an inquest has heard.
asserted
inquest → kill → death
William Chapman, 24, was mauled to death by 30st tiger Altai after climbing two fences and entering the enclosure on October 10, 2026, Doncaster Coroner's Court heard.
asserted
Court → maul → October
An inquest opening into his death on Thursday heard that Mr Chapman had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had suffered bouts of psychosis.
asserted
Chapman → open → psychosis
'His family have expressed a number of concerns in relation to his contact with mental health services leading up to his death,' the officer said.
asserted
officer → express → death
He was described as 'highly functioning and independent', the inquest heard, despite his diagnosis.
asserted
inquest → describe → diagnosis
Ms Brookes said the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust had launched an investigation following Mr Chapman’s death.
asserted
Trust → say → death
Following a post-mortem, his provisional cause of death was listed as 'multiple traumatic injuries' and 'animal interaction'.
asserted
cause → follow → injuries
In a tribute to Mr Chapman, his family previously said he had suffered from 'significant mental illness' for several years and was 'prescribed strong medication'.
asserted
he → say → medication
'William was a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back,' they added.
asserted
they → love → them
William Chapman, 24, was mauled to death after entering the tiger pen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon
Zookeepers were said to have done 'everything they could' to drive tiger Altai off, firing five loud acoustic gun blasts in an attempt to scare him.
It comes after distressing footage was also shared online of the tiger, which the zoo has confirmed will not be euthanised, pawing Mr Chapman, who could be seen sitting and lying on the ground.
uncertain
who → maul → ground
The former Jackie Palmer Stage pupil screamed 'stop' several times during the attack and appeared to make the gesture for 'bad' in Makaton - a language system generally used by individuals who struggle to communicate.
asserted
who → scream → individuals
He also told the 200kg cat to 'stop being naughty'.
asserted
He → tell → cat
The moment before he entered the enclosure was captured in a video, where Mr Chapman, who was named by this newspaper, can be heard asking a parkgoer to take a picture of him with a tiger in the background.
asserted
who → enter → background
Altai, the animal that killed him, could be seen lying in the background under a shaded tree, playing with a fallen branch.
uncertain
that → kill → branch
Mere minutes later, Mr Chapman began climbing over the walkway in an attempt to enter the pen as a heroic older woman tried to pull him back down.
asserted
woman → begin → him
However, according to witnesses, she simply 'wasn't strong enough'.
uncertain
she → accord → witnesses
A final video clip before the tragedy, shared to Instagram, showed Mr Chapman filming Altai, who was resting on a wooden raised platform, and began to slowly approach him.
asserted
who → share → him
In the background, the 24-year-old's heavy breathing could be heard, as shocked onlookers cried, 'oh my God'.
uncertain
onlookers → hear → background
Zookeepers were said to have done 'everything they could' to drive tiger Altai off, firing five loud acoustic gun blasts in an attempt to scare him.
uncertain
they → say → him
Two ambulances and a helicopter raced to the scene at 1.35 pm in a bid to save the former child star's life.
asserted
ambulances → race → life
However, Mr Chapman died at the scene.
asserted
Chapman → die → scene
Parkgoers described him as 'not attached to reality' as he was dancing to music on his headphones and pacing along a walkway before jumping into the enclosure.
asserted
he → describe → enclosure
Visitor Del Taylor recalled being approached by Mr Chapman to take photos of him with one of the tigers in the background before the tragedy.
'
asserted
Taylor → recall → tragedy
He was so happy,' she said in a now-deleted TikTok video in which she appealed for cruel trolls to stop making jokes about the tragedy.
asserted
trolls → say → 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.
asserted
I → come → what
'
Tiger Altai, who mauled Mr Chapman to death after he entered the enclosure, will not be euthanised, Yorkshire Wildlife Park has said
In a statement this week, Mr Chapman's family said they are 'utterly devastated by their loss and are struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
asserted
what → maul → terms
'The publication and circulation of deeply offensive media content is causing them severe distress at an exceptionally vulnerable time.
asserted
publication → cause → time
We ask people to stop doing this.
asserted
We → ask → 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.'
asserted
he → do → what
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!'
asserted
who → mock → nature
On Wednesday, he shared an AI-generated video of himself wrestling with and ultimately embracing the tiger, as The Lion Sleeps Tonight played in the background.
asserted
Lion → share → 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.
asserted
William → add → them
'Sadly, William suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and was consequently prescribed strong medication.
asserted
William → suffer → medication
'It will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death.
asserted
this → decide → death
We would ask everybody to respect that process.'
asserted
We → ask → process
On Wednesday, Downing Street said people should respect the family's views over the footage of the incident.
asserted
people → say → incident
However, No10 would not directly comment on Donald Trump posting the video online.
asserted
Trump → comment → video
The Prime Minister's spokesman said: 'I think obviously the family have made their position clear.
asserted
position → say → ?
Of course, we respect that position.
asserted
we → respect → position
But he added: 'I'm not going to comment on the president's social media channels; he's got a press secretary who can speak to that.'
asserted
who → add → that
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
