Tragic twist in story of couple disfigured after being savagely attacked by chimpanzees

A couple made headlines worldwide when they were left disfigured after being attacked by two - but a new tragic twist has now emerged in the story.

St James and LaDonna Davis were savagely attacked when they visited their chimpanzee, named Moe, which they had adopted at a ranch in . However, as they were preparing to eat a birthday cake with their animal, two other chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure.

The chimps then charged at the Davises. The victims were mauled for several minutes until a relative of the sanctuary's owner ran out with a and shot the two chimps, named Ollie and Buddy, dead.

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LaDonna lost her left thumb, but her husband suffered the worst injuries in the attack as the animals gouged out his right eye and chewed off his nose, eight of his fingers, a chunk of his skull as well as parts of his lips, cheek, buttocks, genitals and feet. He spent five months in hospital and underwent several surgeries, but was never able to walk again, see from his right eye or regain full use of his hands.

However, a new report by has now revealed that officers believe that following the death of St James, his frail and cognitively impaired wife was being taken advantage of. The police found that hundreds of thousands of dollars were drained from the woman's accounts, her possessions were stolen and members of a violent motorcycle gang took control of her property.

LaDonna had allegedly fallen victim to financial exploitation - a crime that is considered the most common form of abuse against elderly people. When Gilbert Amis, a West Covina Police Department officer, visited the property, he found LaDonna in dirty and foul-smelling conditions. During an interview with NBC, he recalled thinking: "We've got to get her out of here."

But this is not the only twist in the story, as it also emerged that St James was a professional boat racer-turned NASCAR driver, and his wife was his crew chief. It also emerged that Moe the chimp, that the couple brought home from Tanzania in 1967, was the real star of the family as the couple treated him more like a son than a pet.

Moe would eat with them at the kitchen table, sleep in their bed, and was also the best man at their wedding. However, in 1971, the city of West Covina sought to have the chimp removed from their home, which ended up in a courtroom showdown that ended with the judge praising the chimp.

Judge Jack Alex said: "From what I've observed of Moe outside and in the courtroom, he doesn't have the traits of a wild animal and is, in fact, somewhat better behaved than some people." The animal lived with the couple for nearly 30 years until he was forcibly removed from their home and placed in a wildlife sanctuary after he bit a house guest's finger. The tragic incident in which St James and LaDonna were attacked by two chimpanzees happened when the couple visited Moe at the sanctuary on his 39th birthday in 2005.