Chimp Owner Backtracks Xanax Claim

2009-02-21 15:00:51 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - Law, News)

The owner of a chimpanzee killed after an attack backtracks claim that she gave it Xanax beforehand.

WiredPRNews.com – The owner of a large chimpanzee that attacked a man Monday, and was subsequently killed, now states she did not give the animal Xanax as was previously stated. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), Sandra Herold told reporters Wednesday that she never gave her domesticated chimp Travis the anti-anxiety medication despite interview statements being televised the same day of her saying she did to calm him down.

The police were called to intervene after Herold’s chimp began attacking her friend Charla Nash. Herold said in an NBC “Today” show interview that she had given Travis Xanax minutes before the attack. Police shot and killed the animal during its rampage. Investigators are currently seeking to understand what prompted the chimp’s attack.

Authorities are now considering bringing criminal charges against Herold in connection with the attack, which disfigured Nash. The 70-year-old widow is quoted in the AP report as stating, “It’s a horrible thing, but I’m not a horrible person and he’s not a horrible chimp.”