Charla Nash; Officer Who Killed Travis the Chimp Speaks to Times

Thu, Feb 25, 2010

nbcconneticut.com

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Everyone knows the story of Travis the 200-pound chimp – a beloved pet turned violent. It’s been over a year now since Travis mauled Charla Nash, his owner Sandra Herold’s friend...

The Connecticut story quickly became a national story. In November, Nash first revealed her face on Oprah...

But a big part of the story has been left out of the media buzz. Earlier this month, the police officer who had to shoot and kill Travis the chimp was denied compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder because compensation is only awarded to an officer who has to kill a human. ...

read NBC article here

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Read the story in its entirety here: After Shooting Chimp, a Police Officer’s Descent

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also read:

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No Stress Compensation for Cop Who Shot Chimp

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City Paid Bills for Cop Who Shot Chimp: AP

Charla Nash Chimpanzee Attack Victim Might Soon Be Discharged

November 11, 2009

nbcconnecticutt.com

Charla Nash might soon leave the Cleveland Clinic...and will go to a rehabilitation center after she leaves the hospital...

Monaco told Cleveland.com that Nash still needs 24-hour care and will need reconstructive surgery to restore ability to breathe through her nose. She is also hoping for a face transplant, he said. The Cleveland Clinic was the first to perform a near-total face transplant in the country.

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Oprah Winfrey interviewed Nash on Tuesday for an episode of her talk show that aired Wednesday afternoon where Charla showed the remains of her face for the first time since she has been hospitalized due to a mauling from a friends pet 200 pound Chimpanzee...

Nash, who is just adjusting to primitive prosthetics, is currently suing Sandra Herold, the owner of the chimp, and the state of Connecticut in relation to the mauling...

Read entire article here

Chimp Victim, Charla Nash, Wants To Sue State For $150M

Attorney: State Knew Chimp Was Dangerous
By LAUREN PETTY
NBC Connecticut
nbcconnecticut.com
Nov 4, 2009

Claiming the Department of Environmental Protection knew Travis the chimp was a serious threat but failed to act, attorney's for his victim, Charla Nash, filed a petition Wednesday with the state's Claims Commissioner asking to sue the state of Connecticut for $150 million.

"This is a tragedy that did not have to happen, should not have happened," Nash's attorney Charles Willinger said in March, when a lawsuit was filed against the chimp's owner, Sandra Herold, for $50 million.

Nash's attorney's now are taking aim at state officials who were aware of concerns about Travis for years...

For the next two years, Charla Nash will go through surgeries as she recovers from a vicious chimp attack in Stamford in February that left her disfigured, blind and near death. Her brothers are by her side through her recovery...

..."It is an accident waiting to happen," that's what a DEP biologist wrote in a letter obtained by the Associated Press dated October 2008, five months before Nash was mauled by Travis in Stamford in February.

55-year-old Nash lost her hands, nose, lips and sight after Travis attacked her when she came to help her employer, Sandra Herold, get the chimp back into the house...Nearly nine months later, Charla Nash remains at the Cleveland Clinic....

...They say she is walking around and using primitive prosthetics. "Charla has accepted her losses. She accepts that she can not change this."

...The Attorney General says hundreds of claims are filed against the state each year and it could take months for the Claims Commissioner to rule on Nash's claim...

read entire article here

Charla Nash Brothers: Victim Of Chimp Attack Feared Animal

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

courant.com
June 29, 2009

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut woman mauled and blinded by a chimpanzee in February had feared the animal might hurt someone and described him as mean and so strong that she had to repair his cage several times, her brothers said.

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Michael and Stephen Nash's comments to The Associated Press provides the first public look at Charla Nash's dealings with Travis, a 200-pound chimpanzee that went berserk when his owner asked Nash to help lure him back into his house...

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Herold's attorney, Robert Golger, has said there was no way to predict Travis would attack Nash. He questioned why Nash would voluntarily go to Herold's house if she was afraid of the chimpanzee. Travis was normally in his cage when Nash visited, Stephen Nash said. "She got lulled into a false sense of security because he hadn't bothered her."

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...A state biologist warned officials last October that Travis could seriously hurt someone if he felt threatened and said that officials had not determined if his enclosure was strong enough. The state Department of Environmental Protection is in charge of monitoring exotic animals in Connecticut. Nash's family has declined to say if they will file a lawsuit against the state or others.

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Nash's family said she's continuing to make progress at the Cleveland Clinic... Nash remembers getting out of her car that day to help her friend lure the animal back in the house, her brothers say. She does not recall the attack, but her brother sees hints of the trauma in a recurring dream and a panic attack she had in the hospital.

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"They kept dragging me in the car and wouldn't let me sleep," Nash said, according to her brother Michael. "It was a dirty car." Michael Nash said he thinks his sister's dream is her recollection of the ambulance and efforts to save her life. During the panic attack, Nash screamed for her brother. "Help me. They're hurting me. They were hurting me," she said.

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Michael Nash said his sister became agitated after a hospital aide tried to help her to the bathroom. "I think grabbing just created a reaction, an instinctual fear of being attacked," he said. Nash continues to make progress, her brothers said. One day she was saying the Hail Mary."It amazes me," Michael Nash said. "Her mental abilities have really come back."

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Not long ago she was in denial about what happened, insisting Travis attacked someone else. But then she acknowledged Travis hurt her, Michael Nash said."I knew it when I got out of the car something was wrong," she said, according to her brother...

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Read article here

Charla Nash, Chimpanzee victim update

Hearings on Chimp Attack Case Postponed

originally posted April 14, 2009

Chimp victim's family wants photos sealed
By DEBRA ALFARONE and LEANNE GENDREAU

Two hearings involving the woman who was brutally attacked by a chimpanzee in February were postponed Monday and her family's lawyers are asking that photos of her remain sealed.

Attorneys for a Charla Nash are also asking a judge to keep her medical records from the public.
Nash, 55, lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids on Feb. 16 when Travis, a 200-pound celebrity chimp belonging to Sandra Herold, of Stamford, attacked.

Matt Newman, an attorney for the conservator of Charla Nash, said Nash's right to privacy overrides the public's right to see the photos. The photos and records will be evidence in Nash's $50 million lawsuit against chimp owner Sandra Herold.

"They're extremely graphic, naturally," Newman said of the photos. "There is an overriding privacy concern with regard to the family members of Ms. Nash and in particularly her daughter."

Herold's attorneys did not object to the request to seal the photos and records, and Stamford Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin Jr. scheduled an April 27 hearing to discuss the request.

Karazin did not make an immediate ruling on Newman's request to make permanent a restraining order that places an attachment on Herold's property and assets, keeping her from selling them. Herold's attorneys are opposing the request because they say there was no way to predict the chimp would attack Nash.

Nash’s family filed a $50 million lawsuit in March, claiming Herold was negligent and reckless when she asked Nash to come over and lure her pet chimp back into her home.

Nash's attorneys are seeking an account of Herold's assets. A judge has granted a temporary restraining order that prevents Herold from selling or mortgaging her assets, and has scheduled a hearing for Monday on the attorneys' request for detailed financial information from Herold.

Herold's attorney said the attack was an accident and that Herold should not be held liable.

Stamford police are still considering criminal charges.

Related Stories
Chimp Attack Victim Needs 2 Years of Surgery
Brothers of Chimp Attack Victim: She’s Tough
'He’s Eating Her! Shoot Him!' Screamed Chimp's Owner

Nash is being treated at the Cleveland Clinic, the first site in the United States to perform a face transplant, where she is in critical, but stable condition. She was moved there from Stamford hospital three days after the attack.

Nash's twin brother, Michael, who was named conservator for his sister's estate, declined to comment after the hearing. Herold did not attend.

Charla Nash, Chimp Attack Victim Needs 2 Years of Surgery

originally posted April 8, 2009

For the next two years, Charla Nash will go through surgeries as she recovers from a vicious chimp attack in Stamford in February that left her disfigured, blind and near death.

Nash, 55, lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids on Feb. 16 when she was attacked by Travis, a 200-pound celebrity chimp belonging to Nash’s friend, Sandra Herold, who treated him like a human.

Damage to her eyes has left her blind for life, doctors said.

In an interview with the "Today Show" Tuesday, Nash's brothers said she is not interested in learning what happened to send her to the hospital.

“The psychiatrist said she understands a lot about her injuries but she’s not interested, at this time, to find out how they occurred,” Stephen Nash, said. Nash is being treated at the Cleveland Clinic, the first site in the United States to perform a face transplant, where she is in critical, but stable condition. She was moved there from Stamford hospital three days after the attack.

Nash’s family members are talking to doctors about reconstructive surgery and doctors said initial surgery would be focused on her facial injuries.

Since being attacked, Nash has made significant neurological and psychological improvement and is awake and able to communicate with her family and caregivers, doctors said.

“Since day one, the brain scans and the MRIs have turned out very positive and very encouraging,” Stephen Nash said.

Nash is able to sit in a chair, listen to country music, and tell her nurses if she is cold, tired or wants to be left alone.

She moves her arms and head to help nurses when they change her bandages and may soon be moved out of an isolation room, according to her brothers.

About three weeks ago, Nash said the first word since her attack, “Lisa,” the name of her nurse at the Cleveland Clinic.

In March, Nash's family filed a lawsuit against Herold for $50 million. A hearing is scheduled for April 13. They have also set up a Web site, friendsofcharlienash.com with her story where people can send e-mails and make donations.

A Connecticut lawmaker said the taxpayers could be paying Nash. A memo from a state biologist warning about the chimp could prove the state was negligent, State Sen. Andrew McDonald, co-chairman of the legislative committee that handles legal claims against

Reports: Chimpanzee 'Travis' Mother Shot While In Rage

Mother Chimpanzee Shot After Escaping Ranch
February 23, 2009

WKMG Orlando

STAMFORD, Conn. -- The mother of Travis the chimpanzee was, like her offspring, fatally shot while in a rage, according to published reports.

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Travis made headlines after the chimp was shot by Stamford police after attacking a friend of his owner.Charla Nash, 55, was critically injured in the attack.

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According to published reports, Travis' mother, named Suzy, was shot and killed following an escape and rampage in 2001. Suzy was living on the Missouri ranch where Travis was adopted from by Sandra Herold when he was 3 days old.

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The New York Daily News reported that Suzy was shot by a teenager after escaping the ranch and wreaking havoc. The primate's death reportedly captivated the Missouri town of Festus and led to a trial that ended with the conviction of the chimp's killer.

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Travis went on to live a domestic lifestyle with the Herolds for the next 15 years. He ate fine foods at the Herolds' table and was toilet trained. Herold said Travis combed her hair and they slept in the same bed.

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Nash was transferred from Stamford Hospital to the Cleveland Clinic. The nation's first face transplant was performed at the clinic over two months ago.

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Nash, whom Herold described as her best friend, came to the Rockrimmon Road Monday evening to help Herold calm the chimp down. Herold told police that Travis had been agitated all day and took her keys and let himself out of the house. Herold has given conflicting reports on whether she gave the animal tea laced with Xanax.

The chimpanzee attacked Nash as she exited her vehicle on the property. Police said the attack went on for 12 minutes and that Nash was left with extensive damage to her face and hands.
Responding officers couldn't discern whether Nash was a man or a woman and told dispatchers, "He has no face."

Nash's twin brother, Steve Nash said he will seek guardianship of his sister and her 17-year-old daughter this week. Police haven't said whether charges will be filed in the case.

Charla Nash, Connecticut Chimp Victim Is Speaking, Responding to Fairly Complicated Commands

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

foxnews.com

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Connecticut woman nearly killed by a chimpanzee is speaking, asking for her daughter and even responding to fairly complicated commands, her brothers said Tuesday.

Stephen and Michael Nash told The Associated Press by telephone on Tuesday that they are encouraged by test results for brain damage to their sister Charla.

About two weeks ago, Nash said her first word, "Lisa" — the name of her nurse at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic. The nurse rushed out to the hallway to tell Stephen Nash.
"We gave each other a hug. It makes you cry," he said.

Nash knows that she is in Cleveland, but doctors doubt she will ever recall the attack, her brothers said. Stephen Nash said he told his sister she was injured in an accident.

Nash also doesn't know the extent of her injuries. But Michael Nash said that with her level of sedation reduced, she will probably start asking questions soon about why she is in the hospital — and a trauma expert is there to help her.

She lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids in the Feb. 16 attack in Stamford, the clinic said more than three weeks ago. Hospital officials said then that she might be blind and brain damaged and that her potential for recovery, if any, was unclear.

But these days, Nash can sit in a chair, listens to country music, and tells her nurses if she is cold, tired or wants to be left alone. She moves her arms and head to help nurses when they change her bandages and may soon be moved out of an isolation room, according to her brothers.
"I'm a lot more optimistic now," Stephen Nash said. "Everything she does is going in the right direction."

Hospital officials would say Tuesday only that Nash was in critical but stable condition — an improvement from just critical condition.

The chimp's owner had asked Nash, her friend and employee, to come to her home the day of the attack to help lure the animal, named Travis, back into her house.

The owner, Sandra Herold, has speculated that the chimp was trying to protect her and attacked Nash because she had changed her hairstyle, was driving a different car and was holding a stuffed toy in front of her face to get Travis' attention.

The 200-pound chimp, which once starred in television commercials, later was shot and killed by police. They are still deciding whether Herold, of Stamford, will face criminal charges.

Nash's family has sued Herold, seeking $50 million in damages, saying she was negligent and reckless. Herold's attorney, Joe Gerardi, has declined to comment.

Nash, aided by an artificial voice box, has asked for her 17-year-old daughter, Brianna, the brothers said. "I started smiling from ear to ear," Michael Nash said.

Nash, who is 55 and grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., has responded to simple commands like wiggling her toes, the brothers said. A doctor asked her to step on the gas and she pushed her right foot down — showing an understanding of how a car works.

That response has her brothers hopeful about the extent of any brain damage, though they acknowledged brain injuries are difficult to predict. "They don't think it's anything severe," Michael Nash said. "It doesn't mean she won't have a personality change or headaches off and on the rest of her life."

Nash told doctors she can see light, her brothers said. They are holding out hope that she might eventually regain sight in one eye.

The Cleveland Clinic was the first center in the nation to perform a face transplant, but whether Nash would undergo such an operation is unknown, her brothers said.

Her progress has left her family thinking that one day the independent woman who once rode the rodeo circuit could live on her own again.

"I think it's going to be a long, hard recovery, but she is a strong person," Michael Nash said. "I think she'll never be 100 percent. She will adapt and work hard to be independent. Steve and I will both make it possible when she's ready to do that."

Family of Charla Nash, Travis the Chimp's Attack Victim, Sues for $50 Million

March 18, 2009

The family of Charla Nash has sued Sandra Herold, the owner of the chimpanzee who mauled Nash, for $50 million. While Nash remains in critical condition, the lawsuit claims that Herold caused the attack by negligently and recklessly owning a wild animal that she could not control.

Nash has remained in critical condition since the Travis Chimp mauled her on February 16. As reported by the Greenwich Times, the attack cost Nash her hands, lips, nose, eyelids and bone structure in her mid-face. She has also suffered significant brain damage.

Nash was a friend and employee of Herold, and had long known Travis. As covered previously she was called over to Herold's house to help calm Travis, who had been agitated all day. According to the AP, Herold has speculated that Travis attacked Nash because he did not recognize her. She had changed her hair, was driving a different car, and waived a stuffed animal in front of her face to get his attention.

Nash's twin brother Michael was named her temporary conservator, allowing him to make medical and legal decisions on her behalf. In addition to the lawsuit, lawyers representing Nash have demanded an accounting of Herold's assets in order to prevent her from transferring them.
Local prosecutors are still deciding whether to file criminal charges against Herold. According to the Greenwich Times, police are still waiting for the results of toxicology tests on Travis. Herold initially stated that she had attempted to calm Travis on the day of the attack by giving him Xanax. She has since said that she did not give the chimp Xanax.

Though Connecticut has a dog bite statute which renders a dog owner strictly liable for most injuries caused by their dog, the statute does not cover normally wild animals such as chimpanzees. Generally, this means that the victim must prove negligence on the part of the owner -- that the owner knew or should have known of the animal's dangerous propensities.

As the case of Travis may well show, proving that someone should be aware of a wild animal’s propensity for danger may not be such a high hurdle. As reported by the AP, two people have claimed that Travis previously bit them (in 1996 and 1998). Additionally, an escape by Travis in 2003 prompted an animal control officer warn Herold that she needed to keep him under control.

Charla Nash, chimpanzee attack victim may have brain damage

By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN

Associated Press Writer

Watch Related Video
Chimp Victim May Have Brain Damage

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- A Connecticut woman mauled by a chimpanzee two weeks ago lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids and may be blind and suffering brain damage, and hospital officials say it's still unclear if her condition can improve at all.

The Cleveland Clinic, revealing the specific injuries Wednesday for the first time, told The Associated Press in a statement that 55-year-old Charla Nash also lost the bone structure in her face when she was attacked on Feb. 16 in Stamford, Conn.

Her wounds have been stabilized, but "critical issues still remain related to a significant traumatic brain injury and injuries to her eyes that threaten her vision," the hospital said.
Neurosurgeons and ophthalmologists are working to evaluate and manage her injuries, but "the full extent of these injuries and her potential for recovery, if any, remain unclear at this time," the hospital said.

Nash remains sedated in the hospital, which performed the nation's first face transplant in December. Hospital officials say it's too early to know if she will be a candidate for a face transplant.

The family and hospital said they are grateful to those across the country who have been concerned about Nash's recovery.

The 200-pound chimp was shot and killed by police. Police are still deciding whether its owner, Sandra Herold, of Stamford, will face criminal charges. Herold's attorney, Joe Gerardi, declined to comment Wednesday.

Herold had asked Nash to come to her home the day of the attack to help lure Travis back into her house. Herold has speculated that the chimp was trying to protect her and attacked Nash because she had changed her hairstyle, was driving a different car and was holding a stuffed toy in front of her face to get Travis' attention...