When the inquest into the death of William Harry Bruce Chapman opened at Doncaster Coroner’s Court on 15 October 2026, the court heard that the 24-year-old had been under the care of adult mental health services provided by the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust. He carried a diagnosis of schizophrenia and had experienced previous episodes of psychosis. Despite that history he was described as highly functioning and independent, with no formal care requirements. His occupation was given as self-employed online trader; his address at the time was in Doncaster. His family, who chose not to attend the brief opening hearing because they were finding matters extremely difficult, had already raised a number of concerns about the contact he had received from those services in the period before his death. The trust has since launched its own investigation. A spokesperson for the trust stated that patient confidentiality would be respected and that the family had been informed of the inquiry.

Chapman died on 10 October after climbing two fences into the enclosure of the male Amur tiger Altai at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Coroner’s officer Caitlin Brookes told the court that he entered at approximately 13:30, was approached by the tiger, and sustained multiple traumatic injuries from the physical contact that rapidly led to his death. He was pronounced ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at the scene. An initial post-mortem examination recorded the provisional cause as multiple traumatic injuries and animal interaction. A more substantial report on the precise extent of the injuries is still awaited; ᴀssertions circulating on social media that he suffered exactly twelve broken bones have not been confirmed by any evidence presented to the coroner. Samples were taken for toxicology. The full inquest has been adjourned until 18 March 2027.

Parallel investigations continue. City of Doncaster Council, the licensing authority for the wildlife park, has opened a health-and-safety inquiry and has said it will share its findings with the coroner. South Yorkshire Police have collected witness statements from park staff and members of the public who were present. The coroner directed that relevant CCTV footage be preserved and that any earlier visits by Chapman to the park be established. The park itself has confirmed it is ᴀssisting the various agencies and that specialist support is being provided to staff affected by the incident. It has also stated that Altai was uninjured and will not be euthanised; the attraction reopened on 16 October.

The family statement released shortly after the death described Chapman as a bright, warm and engaging young man whom they dearly loved and who loved them in return. They noted that he had suffered from significant mental illness over a number of years and had been prescribed strong medication, adding that it would be for the coroner to decide what part that history played. They asked that the formal process be respected. The contrast between the ᴀssessment of him as highly functioning and independent and the family’s concerns about the support he actually received will form one of the central lines of inquiry when the full hearing begins in March. Until then the official record establishes only that a 24-year-old man with a diagnosed history of schizophrenia and psychosis climbed into a tiger enclosure, sustained multiple traumatic injuries from contact with the animal, and died at the scene, while several separate investigations examine the barriers, the care he received, and the precise medical consequences of those final minutes.