‘Chimp Crazy’ Star Owes PETA $240K and Still Could Face Charges for Faking Ape’s Death

The woman at the center of HBO’s docuseries Chimp Crazy is still on the hook for nearly $240,000 after she faked the death of her pet chimpanzee Tonka, as PETA is urging a judge to consider bringing perjury charges against her. 

Tonia Haddix could face up to five years in prison — possibly more if she’s charged and convicted on obstruction charges — after Tonka was discovered living in her basement in June 2022 and a documentary crew caught the entire bananas saga on camera. 

“To be honest with you, I didn’t know that was transpiring,” Haddix told Rolling Stone on Monday morning after learning of PETA’s letter. “Am I shocked? No. Am I sad and wish that people would just leave me alone? Yes. But PETA is not going to stop. They’re relentless. I’m just worn out.”

Still, Haddix insists that she was only looking out for the well-being of her beloved chimpanzee when she sobbed loudly in front of a Missouri district judge to recount Tonka’s supposed death from congestive heart failure in May 2021. 

The ape allegedly died just a few days after a judge ordered seven chimps to be removed from Haddix’s care and sent to a sanctuary in Florida. Haddix wept during a January 2022 virtual court hearing as she described finding the lifeless body of the former Hollywood movie-star chimp, who starred in Buddy alongside Alan Cumming. 

Despite Haddix’s tears and offering up finely ground, brown powder that she claimed were Tonka’s ashes, PETA didn’t buy her version of events. The animal rights organization continued to demand more evidence from Haddix that proved Tonka was dead. However, a judge sided in Haddix’s favor. Until PETA had definitive evidence that Tonka was alive, there was nothing more to be done.

But Tonka was indeed alive, sitting in a cage in Haddix’s basement — just a few feet below from where she just swore to tell the truth. And the bold-faced lie was caught on camera by a documentary crew that had been camped out in her house, filming Haddix’s battle against PETA. 

“We fucking won!” Haddix cheered as soon as the hearing ended. “We gotta just keep him hidden.” 

In light of the admission caught on tape, PETA sent a letter to an assistant U.S. attorney, urging the court to pursue criminal perjury charges against Haddix. The court reportedly originally declined to press charges against Haddix because it felt it “lacked sufficient evidence to prove that the chimpanzee who was removed from Haddix’s home on June 5, 2022 was actually Tonka,” according to the letter obtained by The Los Angeles Times. 

However, the court hearing scene, as well as several others in Chimp Crazy, provides “incontrovertible proof” that the ape in question is Tonka. PETA also argues the series shows the extreme lengths that Haddix went to in order to fake Tonka’s death, lie to the court, and hide him across state lines and in her own home. 

“Now that Tonia Haddix’s blatant and unapologetic perjury is being broadcast around the world, the United States must prosecute her, both to punish her and to deter future defendants from lying in federal court and expecting to get away with it,” PETA said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “Just as PETA never stopped fighting for Tonka, it won’t stop pushing authorities until Haddix and her co-conspirators are held responsible for their crimes.”

When reached by phone on Monday morning, Haddix’s husband Jerry Aswegan, who also could face criminal charges after he submitted an affidavit to the court that he cremated Tonka, told Rolling Stone that the couple isn’t too worried about possible looming charges. “[PETA has] already tried once, and [the court] turned it down,” he said. “They said it’s not a big enough case to worry about.” 

Even if Haddix escapes criminal charges, she’s still on the hook for at least $240,000 to PETA for the organization’s expenses and attorney fees in bringing the case against her. Last March, a judge ordered Haddix to pay $224,000 within seven days, however that number swelled by $13,020 in interest fees after Haddix didn’t comply with the payment, according to court documents. In order to help pay for her legal bills, Aswegan said Haddix might consider launching a GoFundMe. 

Haddix though, is unsure. “I don’t know if you’d call it a daze,” she says through tears. “I don’t even know what to think … They took my kid and once they took my kid, you kinda got [to get] on with things.”

From Rolling Stone US.