‘Tiger King:’ Derrick Levasseur of ‘Big Brother’ Says He ‘Wants to Investigate’ Don Lewis’ Death
Considered one of the greatest Big Brother players, Season 16 winner Derrick Levasseur combined his detective past with his newfound reality television fame to now host his own show, Breaking Homicide. After watching riveting Netflix docuseries Tiger King, along with millions of other viewers, Levasseur announced he wanted to find closure for Don Lewis’ family and investigate his mysterious disappearance.
Derrick Levasseur won ‘Big Brother’
In 2014, then 30-year-old Rhode Island-based sergeant, Derrick Levasseur, competed on CBS’ Big Brother Season 16. He played an extremely dominating game as part of The Detonators alliance and made a Final Two deal with Cody Calafiore, which lasted throughout much of the game.
The police officer also competed in side tasks as part of Team America as well as controlled every nomination without ever getting nominated himself.
His closest ally won the last part of the Head of Household competition and chose to take the sergeant to the Final Two over beatable Victoria Rafaeli. Due to his dominating performance, the jury awarded him the win in a 7-2 vote.
He is the first Big Brother U.S. player to win without ever getting nominated for eviction and won the most money out of any champion, thanks to the Team America tasks.
Derrick Levasseur after winning ‘Big Brother’
Three years after Levasseur won the coveted title and a record-breaking $575,000, he appeared in Martin Sheen-produced six-part series, Hard Evidence: OJ Is Innocent, which aired on Investigation Discovery.
In 2018, the Rhode Island-based sergeant began hosting his own crime investigation show, Breaking Homicide, which also airs on the same network.
Each episode of the series revolves around the 36-year-old and Forensic Psychologist Kris Mohandie as they investigate cold case murders for their loved ones who want closure. Breaking Homicide is currently in its second season.
Derrick Levasseur wants to investigate death of Don Lewis from ‘Tiger King’
Captivating Netflix docuseries Tiger King features several fascinating storylines, including one that alleges Big Cat Rescue owner Carole Baskins killed her ex-husband, Don Lewis.
While there are many theories about his disappearance, her rival Joe Exotica publicly speculated that she murdered him to receive his enormous wealth as he allegedly planned on divorcing her.
Because of the perceived evidence and how the documentary portrayed Baskins, several viewers believe she did kill her ex-husband and want investigation opened.
The Hillsborough County Department still considers it an active case, even though she officially declared him dead five years and a day after his disappearance, and is looking to the public for answers.
Levasseur, who presumably watched the documentary as well, tweeted that he would like to “investigate the death of Don Lewis” as “his family, friends, and detectives who worked the case all want the same thing.” He also tagged Investigation Discovery in his tweet and hashtagged Tiger King.
Survivor star and police officer Sarah Lacina offered her assistance as well as New York Times Bestseller and investigative journalist, Billy Jensen. Many of his followers responded to the tweet in support and offered their own theories.
As the cold case does correlate with the work he does on Breaking Homicide, it is possible viewers can see the Big Brother winner dive into Lewis’ disappearance or murder in following seasons to get the family answers finally.
Tiger King is available to stream on Netflix.
