A pet chimpanzee's birthday party ended in a horrific, life-altering attack by other primates.
In short: St. James and LaDonna Davis raised a chimpanzee named Moe as their own child for decades. When they visited him at a sanctuary to celebrate his 39th birthday, two other escaped chimpanzees mauled the couple, leaving St. James permanently disfigured and sparking a tragic, years-long struggle for justice and closure.
St. James and LaDonna Davis adopted Moe in 1967, shortly after his birth in Tanzania. Unable to have children, the couple integrated the chimpanzee into their domestic life, where he wore clothes, used the toilet, and even participated in their wedding. However, as Moe matured, his behavior became increasingly dangerous. By 1977, he had bitten a woman, and by 1998, he had escaped his home enclosure, injuring a police officer so severely that the resulting medical and rehabilitation costs reached US$250,000.
Following these incidents, West Covina officials seized Moe and relocated him to a sanctuary. The Davises spent years fighting to regain custody, eventually winning a 2002 settlement that ordered the city to fund a home where they could live with him. However, before this reunion could occur, the couple visited Moe at Animal Haven Ranch on March 3, 2005. Due to staff negligence, two other chimpanzees—16-year-old Buddy and 13-year-old Ollie—escaped their enclosures and attacked the couple, likely driven by jealousy over the attention Moe was receiving.
The assault was catastrophic. St. James suffered the loss of most of his fingers, his left foot, and significant portions of his face and torso. He underwent over 60 surgeries between 2005 and 2009. Moe himself disappeared in 2008 after escaping from another facility and was never found. St. James passed away in 2018 at age 74, following a stroke. The aftermath for LaDonna was equally grim, as she later fell victim to financial elder abuse and the seizure of her property by a motorcycle gang, highlighting the devastating, multi-layered tragedy that followed their attempt to domesticate a wild animal.
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