Self-employed online trader and former child actor William Harry Bruce Chapman, 24, died from multiple traumatic injuries after climbing into a Siberian tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Auckley, Doncaster, England, an inquest opening heard on Thursday (15). Presiding over the hearing at Doncaster Coroner’s Court, senior coroner Nicola Mundy was told that the visitor scaled two perimeter fences to enter the restricted habitat housing the big cat.

Pathologist Dr. Karzai carried out the initial post-mortem examination following the fatality. The medical report recorded the provisional cause of death as “1A multiple traumatic injuries” and “1B animal interaction”. Giving evidence during the brief session, coroner’s officer Caitlin Brookes outlined the sequence of events from Saturday (10), when Chapman arrived at the South Yorkshire attraction alone.

“He attended Yorkshire Wildlife Park where, at 13.31 hours, he climbed two fences and entered the tiger enclosure… He approached the tiger and, following an interaction, suffered multiple traumatic injuries,” Brookes told the court. The coroner’s officer then described the fatal encounter involving Altai, a five-year-old male Siberian (Amur) tiger weighing approximately 200 kilograms (30 stone). “He was approached by the tiger and the ensuing physical contact between the tiger and Mr. Chapman led to him sustaining multiple traumatic injuries which rapidly led to his death,” she stated.

Emergency services were alerted shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time. Park staff managed to secure and detain the uninjured tiger after the mauling, while attending paramedics pronounced Chapman dead at the scene. Born in 2002 in Chichester, West Sussex, Chapman trained during his youth at the Jackie Palmer Stage School in High Wycombe and worked as a child actor, appearing alongside Shirley Henderson in the two-part 2009 ITV television comedy “May Contain Nuts” and in the 2012 BBC historical series “True Stories”.

Psychiatric care review and council safety probe in Doncaster

Relatives of the 24-year-old did not attend the court session due to the distress caused by his bereavement, but they raised formal questions regarding the medical support provided to him in the weeks leading up to the incident. Although Chapman had a clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia and had experienced previous bouts of psychosis, the court heard he lived alone in a flat in Doncaster, worked independently as an online trader, and had no formal daily care requirements.

“During my communications with Mr. Chapman’s family, they confirmed he had a history of mental illness, a diagnosis of schizophrenia, had suffered previous bouts of psychosis and was under the care of Doncaster Mental Health Services. Despite the diagnosis, Mr. Chapman was highly functioning and independent. His family expressed a number of concerns in relation to his contact with mental health services in the period leading up to his death,” Brookes told the coroner.

In a written statement issued ahead of the court proceedings, his relatives described him as a “bright, warm and engaging” young man who had been prescribed strong medication for significant mental illness over several years, and they urged public bodies to establish the full facts. “The family is hopeful that the relevant authorities will do everything possible to get to the bottom of why our wonderful son did what he did,” the family statement said, adding that it would be for the coroner to determine what role his condition played.

Following those representations, the Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH), the public healthcare body responsible for adult psychiatric services in the district, initiated a Patient Safety Incident Investigation (PSII, an internal clinical review used by the UK National Health Service to examine potential gaps in patient care). At the same time, the City of Doncaster Council, which serves as the licensing authority for the zoo, opened an independent health and safety investigation, while the animal charity Born Free called for a review of how the enclosure was breached.

Key dates in the judicial inquiry and park reopening schedule

Management at Yorkshire Wildlife Park confirmed that Altai will not be euthanized following the breach, thanking the public on Thursday (15) for sending messages of support to keepers and staff. The official inquiries and operational steps confirmed by British authorities follow a set schedule:

• October 10, 2026, at 1:31 p.m. (local time): Chapman scales two fences into the tiger habitat and dies at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries.
• October 13, 2026: His stepfather formally identifies the body at the mortuary as relatives and South Yorkshire Police urge the public to stop sharing social media footage of the incident.
• October 15, 2026: Senior coroner Nicola Mundy opens the formal inquest at Doncaster Coroner’s Court.
• October 16, 2026: Yorkshire Wildlife Park reopens to the public after remaining closed for six days following the tragedy.
• March 18, 2027: Date scheduled by senior coroner Nicola Mundy for the full inquest hearing, pending comprehensive pathology reports and witness statements gathered by South Yorkshire Police.