ST. LOUIS 鈥 Federal authorities made an unannounced visit earlier this year to the home of Tonia Haddix, the former caretaker of a movie star chimpanzee.
Haddix鈥檚 husband met them there, according to court records filed Wednesday. The officers asked where his wife was.
Feeding the monkeys, the husband replied, court records say.
Haddix emerged from the home鈥檚 basement in a hairnet and pajamas. She took the officers to an enclosure nearby.
But there was no chimp inside.
Federal prosecutors argued in a document filed Wednesday that Haddix, who pleaded guilty this year to lying to a federal judge, kept a second secret chimp, in violation of court orders.
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Three months after that visit, federal agents returned to Haddix鈥檚 home. There, they found an adult female chimp in a basement cage 鈥 the same cage that held Tonka, the movie star chimp whom Haddix had hidden, claiming he was dead.
鈥淒efendant has shown no remorse for her criminal conduct and has continued to challenge and defy this court鈥檚 authority,鈥 federal prosecutor Hal Goldsmith wrote in his memorandum. 鈥淪he should face significant punishment as a result.鈥
Tonka the chimpanzee was removed June 5, 2022, from a basement cage in the home of Tonia Haddix of Sunrise Beach, Mo.
Haddix鈥檚 attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The legal saga involving Haddix and her chimps dates back to 2017 when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the U.S. animal rights nonprofit, sued her and her now-defunct Missouri Primate Foundation.
PETA claimed she kept several chimpanzees 鈥 including movie star Tonka, who appeared in the 1997 movies 鈥淏uddy鈥 and 鈥淕eorge of the Jungle鈥 鈥 in inadequate conditions.
Haddix signed an agreement three years later to send four of the chimps to a sanctuary in Florida. The order allowed her to keep three chimps, including Tonka.
But she failed to comply with the conditions of that agreement, PETA said. Sheriff鈥檚 deputies and marshals arrived at the facility and removed the remaining chimps in 2021.
Tonka, however, wasn鈥檛 there.
Haddix鈥檚 husband claimed Tonka had died of congestive heart failure. He signed an affidavit claiming he鈥檇 cremated the body.
But in May 2022, PETA learned that Tonka was still alive. Authorities removed him from the basement cage in her home in Sunrise Beach, near Lake of the Ozarks, and took him to a primate sanctuary in Florida.
鈥淚 lied to them,鈥 Haddix told the Post-Dispatch in June 2022. 鈥淚 did it to protect (Tonka) from the evil clutches of PETA. He is like a son to me. I love him as much as I do my own children, maybe more.鈥
Last year, PETA lawyers filed to hold her in contempt for similar admissions made to a film crew in a 鈥淐himp Crazy鈥 documentary from HBO. Federal prosecutors began to investigate.
But, before she could be charged, Haddix reached an agreement with prosecutors and pleaded guilty in April to lying to the court about Tonka鈥檚 death. U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark allowed Haddix to remain out on bond to live in Sunrise Beach under the supervision of U.S. pretrial release officers.
Two weeks later, on April 14, pretrial services officers arrived at her home.
Her husband kept them waiting, agents wrote in an affidavit. He initially said he and Haddix were on their way out.
Eventually, however, he let them inside. Haddix took them outside the home and to an area that previously contained a roadside safari, the records say.
They then went to the basement of her house. A cage there, swarming with flies, contained 鈥渇resh dung,鈥 a blanket, an empty Gatorade bottle and a half-eaten sucker.
Federal agents launched an investigation, and on July 9, they searched the home.
There, they found the female chimp in Tonka鈥檚 old cage.
Federal prosecutors filed to revoke her bond.
Haddix was arrested at a hospital after having a medical episode, she said in court Tuesday.
She was still in jail on Wednesday and set to appear before a judge on Thursday to determine whether she鈥檒l remain locked up until her sentencing.
Federal prosecutors had initially agreed to recommend a prison sentence of 10-16 months in exchange for Haddix鈥檚 guilty plea. Haddix鈥檚 lawyers were expected to argue for six months to a year.
But now, Wednesday鈥檚 filing says, prosecutors plan to ask for even more prison time.
鈥淲hen all of the facts and circumstances are considered here, (Haddix鈥檚) criminal conduct has to be viewed as substantial,鈥 the filing says.
Haddix is set to be sentenced Aug. 7.
Post-Dispatch photographers capture tens of thousands of images every year. See some of their best work that was either taken in June 2025 in this video. Edited by Jenna Jones.
