Lorenza Pearson Still Endangering the Public 16 Years Later

More than 16 years later, Pearson was charging $1 a person to step into a canvas tent outside the Mount Hope Auction to view his menagerie of caged lions, tigers and a single, aging badger.

Pearson, 52, of Copley Township, said the 1983 tragedy was a nightmarish instant that almost stopped a lifelong dream.

“I couldn’t do anything for months. I loved my son,” he said. “I was going to get rid of all of the animals after my son died.”

The counsel of an old farmer changed his mind.

“An old Amish fella told me that a lot of farmers have lost kids to accidents or lost a limb in machinery,” he said. “But he said, You don’t give up on your dream, Lorenza And your dream is to have these animals.'”

Pearson had five lions, two bears and a wolf when the tiger, Solomon, mauled his son. The 16-month-old, 250-pound Bengal tiger had been a family pet for about a year.

“I turned my back to get some food and he leapt up and out of the room,” he said. “He ran past me … went down the hall and into another room and just leapt toward my son. He went right around his head.”