The tragic victim of a tiger attack at a zoo in Yorkshire spent his final hours at the gym and posing for photographs with a crossbow in Doncaster, before embarking on his doomed trip to the wildlife park, social media images show.
asserted
images → spend → park
William Chapman, 24, who was classed as vulnerable with a history of 'significant' mental health problems, jumped into the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon.
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who → class → afternoon
Parkgoers described Mr Chapman as having been dancing to music in his AirPods and pacing up and down on a walkway above the enclosure, describing him as 'not attached to reality'.
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Parkgoers → describe → reality
Video footage filmed by Mr Chapman showed the moment he slowly approached one of the park's two rare Amur tigers, a five-year-old male named Altai.
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he → film → tigers
Minutes later, viral images saw him being toyed with by the big cat, with witnesses describing how it pawed at him before attaching its jaw to his neck.
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it → see → neck
Emergency services rushed to the park at 1.35pm, but Mr Chapman was confirmed to have died.
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Chapman → rush → 1.35pm
An inquest is due to open into the death at Doncaster Coroner’s Court on Thursday morning.
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inquest → open → morning
A friend of park owner John Minion has said he has been left 'devastated' by the incident and was 'first on the scene'.
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he → say → scene
After he was named by this newspaper on Tuesday, Mr Chapman's family said they were heartbroken at the loss of their 'amazing son', who they described as 'a bright, warm and engaging young man whom his family dearly loved – and William loved them back'.
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William → name → them
They added he had been prescribed 'strong medication' to treat his mental ill-health, and 'it will be for the coroner to decide what part this played in his death'.
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this → add → death
William Chapman, 24, was mauled to death after entering the tiger pen at Yorkshire Wildlife Park on Saturday afternoon
A video filmed by Mr Chapman in the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife park, shows the camera holder slowly approaching a wooden platform on which tiger Altai is resting
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
A now-deleted Instagram account paints a picture of how the young man spent his final day before heroic visitors tried and failed to prevent him putting himself in lethal danger.
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him → maul → danger
A series of images posted on the day of his death show Mr Chapman posing at the gym and at a flat in Doncaster with a crossbow.
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Chapman → post → crossbow
The first picture shows Mr Chapman outside a convenience store, holding a can of Jack Daniels mixed with Coca-Cola Zero.
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picture → show → Zero
This was followed by a second image of a soldier figurine, accompanied by the words 'SAS', a heart emoji, and the flag of Uganda.
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This → follow → Uganda
In the hours before the incident at the wildlife park, former child actor Mr Chapman posted photographs of a property he was staying in, tagging it 'Doncaster'.
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he → post → it
One features a replica of an ancient Greek war helmet positioned on his pillow.
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One → feature → pillow
The second is a photograph of a living room with a sofa, with Mr Chapman's shoes and grey tracksuit bottoms visible.
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shoes → live → sofa
A crossbow and several darts sit in the corner, as well as two backpacks, a computer monitor and laundry.
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crossbow → sit → corner
It appears the photo was taken overnight or in the early hours of the morning as it is still dark outside.
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it → appear → morning
The account suggests Mr Chapman later spent time at a swimming pool and the gym in the hours before his death: a selfie taken in blue swimming trunks – which can also be seen in the same laundry in his living room – shows him wearing a blue wristband.
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him → suggest → wristband
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.
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he → see → park
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.
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him → think → 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.
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tape → upload → him
In the background, a card featuring the word 'Grandson' is on display.
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card → feature → 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.'
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you → match → message
Other images from his social media, posted around the same time, may have been taken earlier.
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images → post → time
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.
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These → include → 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.
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photographs → arrive → hours
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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Altai → describe → AirPods
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.
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Chapman → tell → 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.
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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.'
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I → come → what
A video clip caught the moment, which took place just before he entered the enclosure.
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he → catch → 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.
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Altai → hear → 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
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ambulance → believe → afternoon
Just moments later, Mr Chapman then began climbing over the walkway in a bid to enter the pen.
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Chapman → begin → pen
A heroic older woman desperately tried to pull the 24-year-old back down, but witnesses said she simply 'wasn't strong enough'.
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she → try → old
Mr Chapman then jumped into the enclosure below.
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Chapman → jump → enclosure
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.
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he → share → him
In the background, he can be heard breathing heavily as shocked onlookers cry out 'oh my God'.
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onlookers → hear → background
…and 26 more, not listed.
The Aporia
