James and LaDonna Davis a year or so before the attack (Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Moe was pictured smiling ahead of a visit from St. James and LaDonna launched a fight to keep the chimp. There were dramatic scenes as officials removed Moe from his home. West Covina officials then deemed Moe too dangerous to live with the couple, seizing him to take him to an animal sanctuary. The Davis couple argued he could have mistaken her red-painted fingernails for his favourite liquorice. It was the first blot on his record.Ī little over a year later, Moe bit a woman who against all advice put her hand into his cage. In the resulting standoff and operation to recapture him, he injured a police officer's hand and damaged a vehicle. Spooked, he fled, bolting out of his enclosure.
On August 16, 1998, a welder repairing the metal cage apparently left some equipment switched on and Moe got an electric shock. James Davis had to fight to keep Moe the chimp at their home on more than one occasion (Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)Īt some point in the 1990s, Moe was moved to his own 10ft by 12ft enclosure at the family home. Then in the summer of 1998 came the beginning of the end of their blissful family life on the ranch. James and LaDonna, though well aware chimps could turn aggressive as they got older, said Moe remained "a happy little guy". Through the 1970s and 80s, the chimp's ability to communicate improved and he grew bigger, reaching 4ft in height and 130lbs (9st).
Chimpanzee face prosthetic driver#
James was a respected NASCAR driver and Moe often joined him at racing events. He was made an honorary citizen of West Covina and over the next decade appeared on TV.īy this point, St. He shook hands, gave out kisses and even played with the bailiff. James and LaDonna were summoned to court, accused of violating a city ordinance by harbouring a wild animal.īut Moe, dressed in shirt, trousers and shoes, charmed the public, the press and the judge.
In 1971, a 'monkey trial' turned Moe into a minor celebrity overnight. James and LaDonna Davis at their West Covina home (Image: Getty Images) Moe (pictured in his cage) lived with St. Damaged, the ship was forced ashore, and with time to kill, he joined a hunt during which a chimp was slaughtered after giving birth. Owing to a twist of fate, he found himself in Tanzania, Africa. Despite having never been on a boat, he was soon at sea. An ad in the paper said a merchant ship needed deckhands for an around-the-world trip. But when he didn't show, leaving her waiting in church, he became a pariah in their hometown. James and Moe was forged in 1967, almost 40 years before the attack.Ī year earlier, he had agreed to marry childhood sweetheart LaDonna in West Covina, California. 'Satanic' killer chopped roommate into pieces before 'feeding human soup to homeless'.Crazed pet chimp wails as he rips off woman's face and eats eyes in harrowing phone call.James and LaDonna Davis raised Moe the chimp from being newborn Read More Related Articles James, 79, has also spent the past 25 years dealing with another anguish – the disappearance of his 'boy', Moe. Now permanently disfigured, in a wheelchair and needing constant care, St. James survived the vicious assault in March 2005. One horrified first responder remarked: "It looked like a grizzly bear attack."Īstonishingly, though, St. He lost an eye, his nose and some of his lips in the mauling. The powerful great apes bit and tore off the defenceless man's face, fingers, buttocks and testicles. James was fighting for his life after being subjected to a savage attack by two crazed chimps at the animal sanctuary Moe called home. James Davis was finally enjoying some quality time with his beloved wife LaDonna and Moe, the chimpanzee they called their son.Īfter a taxing few years of lawsuits, legal hearings and loneliness, the unconventional family of three had reason to be happy and hopeful – but their contentment was short lived. Sitting at a picnic table decked out with sweet treats, St.
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