Man who testified against Joe Exotic at his murder-for-hire trial found dead at 53 in apartment

NEWS AND COMMENT: Tiger King star Erik Cowie, 53, found dead in NYC. Toxicology tests will be carried out. He had a drink problem. He worked for Joe Exotic who was American's largest private zoo owner until the empire came tumbling down after his conviction for planning to murder his arch enemy Carole Baskin, the CEO of Big Cat Rescue, Florida. She got Joe Exotic's Zoo at the end of the day. The animals were rescued.

Erik Cowie, 53, found dead in NYC

Cowie appeared in the Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness which made Joe Exotic a celebrity even though he was being tried for a murder-for-hire plot. Exotic going to be resentenced. It will probably be a reduction from the current 22-year term he is serving.

Associated: Allegedly Tiger King star Joe Exotic is trying to scam his way out of prison by saying he has prostate cancer