Dead lion stolen? Five people they are four men and a boy lion are accused of trying to steal a dead lion that deputies shot after it fled from an Ohio wild animal preserve Zanesville Ohio . The lion was among the wild animals that were let loose 48 exotic animals were killed after the owner animals Terry Thompson reportedly set them free and then shot himself. Terry Thompson deep in debt ,A debt-ridden man distraught over marital problems and deep in debt told one of his farmhands the night before he released a menagerie of African lions, Bengal tigers and other exotic animals that he had a plan and said to the caretaker: "You will know when it happens." Terry Thompson threw open the animals' cages late in the afternoon on Oct. 18 and then committed suicide on his farm near Zanesville in eastern Ohio. According to reports released Friday, sheriff's deputies who arrived at Thompson's private compound had no choice but to shoot the animals crouching between ...