10 Gruesome Details Surrounding Travis The Chimp, Whose Attack Left A Woman Faceless

6 /10 Like A Son

In Stamford, the tiny primate was treated like a son by his adoptive human family. Sandy and Jerry bottle-fed Travis and allowed him to sleep in the bedroom crib (not a cage).

They taught him how to brush his teeth and use the toilet as he grew older. They would often join him in the bathtub as well.

Travis had an extensive wardrobe to make him the most incredible animal on the planet.

He would soon learn to accept and love his human parents, probably the only parents he ever knew.

5 /10 Home For Travis

Sandy and Jerry fitted their house with everything Travis could have wanted, including a sizeable caged room in which he was allowed to roam free.

They also installed some sliders, which led directly to an enclosure outside the main building.

Travis could walk and play anywhere he wanted when they were home, and he would swing from the ropes in his room to the living room and even the kitchen.

There was a mattress on the bedroom floor in case Travis would like to lie down, although he slept in bed with them most nights.

4 /10 Aggressive Episode

Sandy and Jerry took Travis for a ride to town quite often. Travis suddenly became one of Stamford’s most famous residents. October 2003 marked the first time Travis displayed some severe aggressive behaviors.

During a relaxed drive in town in a 4Runner, someone threw an empty bottle into Travis’ open window.

He quickly unbuckled the seatbelt and threw himself at a passerby.

He climbed over cars and lay down on the street, making the traffic grinding halt.

It took the police officers two hours to calm him down. No charges were pressed. Travis was grounded at home.

3 /10 No More Jerry

On April 12, 2005, Jerry Herold died of stomach cancer. Before Jerry died, he told his wife to send Travis to a sanctuary because the chimp was becoming too much for herself to handle – advice she ignored.

Sandy and Charla reunited around the time of Jerry’s passing. The latter worked and, for a time, lived in the former’s house.

Fast forward to February 16, 2008, Sandy called Charla to say Travis was roaming outside and that she needed help to bring him back inside.

Charla arrived around 3:40 p.m. when Travis was still in the front yard.

2 /10 A Menace

The playful Travis everyone knew turned into a menace when he saw Charla stepping out of her car.

He knocked her to the ground and attacked her ferociously. Seeing all the violence, Sandy called 911.

When the authorities arrived, Charla was lying motionless and covered with blood. Her injuries were beyond severe; Travis tore her eyelids and broke almost every facial bone.

Her hands were almost completely removed. Travis then attempted to get into one of the police cars on the scene.

An officer shot him four times before Travis ran away.

1 /10 Back At Home

Any person would have dropped to the ground instantly after taking four close-range shots, but Travis was not a person. A group of officers chased him into the nearby woods.

Without anyone noticing, however, Travis made his way back into the house. He left a trail of blood from the gunshot wounds. He entered the bedroom before going into his room.

He heaved forward into the bedpost and died. Charla Nash survived her injuries, but she was rendered blind.

Sandy Herold killed in May 2010. She, Jerry, and Travis were buried next to each other.