Newly-Revealed Photos Of Cecil The Lion's Killer Next To A Bear He Illegally Killed [Graphic]
By Emma G. Gallegos in News on Aug 14, 2015 2:43PM
Walter Palmer next to the remains of a bear he killed (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources/ABC News)
Before he killed the beloved lion Cecil, reviled Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer was in trouble with authorities for another one of his trophy killings.
In 2006, Palmer was hunting black bear in northern Wisconsin. He did have a permit to hunt, but he went 40 miles out of the permitted area to shoot a bear. He then tried to cover it up by paying off his guides, authorities told ABC News.
"He was lying to us. He was offering to pay, it turns out, about $20,000 to keep the others who were in the hunt, to have them lie, so that's a fairly aggressive cover-up," U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil told 20/20.
Palmer ran into trouble when he tried to take the bear across state lines to Minnesota. The guides he paid off didn't lie, but Palmer did. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to felony charges for making false statements to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He was sentenced to a year of probation and had to pay $2,938 in fines.
ABC filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn more about this event and obtain the photos you see here:
Authorities pose with the remains of the bear Walter Palmer killed (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources/ABC News)
Palmer has gone into hiding and has had to temporarily shutter his dentistry in Minnesota. Vandals attacked his vacation home in Florida. And he's wanted by officials in Zimbabwe where Cecil was killed.