Lion-Killing Dentist’s Home Targeted By Vandals
Lion-killing dentist Walter Palmer’s Florida home has been target by vandals who spray-painted “Lion Killer” on his garage door, The Guardian is reporting.
Florida vacation home of dentist who shot #CecilTheLion spray-painted with ‘Lion Killer!’ http://t.co/r8EMpjEd1U pic.twitter.com/5LXc3bAIwa
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 6, 2015
Walter Palmer, you may remember, went from being an unknown Minnesota dentist to an international villain after he shot and killed Cecil the Lion, the beloved resident of a Zimbabwe game preserve, was lured away by Palmer’s guides, then shot with a bow and arrow. The arrow didn’t kill the lion, and after the hunter and his guides had tracked the wounded creature through the bush for 48 hours, Cecil was finally murdered with a gun shot.
The backlash from the lion’s killing has forced the Minnesota dentist to close his practice and go into hiding as protesters gathered at the site of his practice with signs saying things like “Rot In Hell.”
And now, vandals have targeted the dentist’s Florida vacation home. Vandals also threw what appears to be marinated pigs’ feet on the driveway of the $1.1 million Marco Island home.
Marco Island Police Capt. Dave Baer said, via The Washington Post, that police learned of the vandalism Tuesday morning. It is unclear how the police learned of the vandalism, which is being investigated as criminal mischief, a first-degree misdemeanor.
For the lion-killing dentist, some vandalism to his vacation home may wind up being the least of his problems: he’s facing 15 years in a Zimbabwe prison (although whether the U.S. would extradite him is not clear), and he’s been receiving death threats. In fact, according to The Daily Mail, Palmer has hired armed security guards.
“The globally-despised dentist, 55, is spending thousands of dollars a day on armed security and covert CCTV cameras after being deluged with death threats and abuse.”
The Daily Mail also notes that the dentist owns three lavish homes; all decorated, indoors and outdoors, with animal-themed furniture.
Since the vandalism at the dentist’s Florida home, Palmer has installed a security system and hired private investigators with the hopes of deterring any future acts of vandalism. Walter Zalisko, a spokesperson for the company hired by Palmer, says that spotting and recording a cars’ license plate will be the key to deterring any future vandals.
“I certainly hope we don’t see any repeat of what happened. But if we do, the people will be caught on camera because we’ve installed closed circuit TV on the property. A lot of those cameras are hidden. We’re able to document all the license plates coming on this street.”
As of this post, it is not clear if the lion-killing dentist was at his Florida home when it was vandalized.
[Images courtesy of: Shutterstock/paula french, Getty Images/Adam Bettcher]
