Tragic life of Dog the Bounty Hunter as star plagued by horror deaths, sinister abuse claims & grisly murder conviction

The Sun

21-07-2025

WITH his steely pursuit of criminals and bulging muscles, Dog the Bounty Hunter is the image of an American tough guy.
But the TV star - real name Duane Chapman - has had more than his fair share of tragedy, including horrific abuse at the hands of his father, the deaths of two of his children, his grandson, and the love of his life.
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On Saturday, Dog, 78, was rocked by fresh heartache as his stepson shot and killed his own son, in what is believed to have been a tragic accident, TMZ claimed.
Gregory Zecca, son of Dog's wife, Francie, accidentally shot Anthony, 13, at their apartment in Naples, Florida.
A spokesperson for Dog and Francie told TMZ: "We are grieving as a family over this incomprehensible tragic accident and would ask for continued prayers as we grieve the loss of our beloved grandson, Anthony."
Zecca reportedly works with Dog and Dog's daughter Lyssa on his bounty hunting team.
In 2021, the 38-year-old, who was also a gun enthusiast, shared photos of him and his son with a rifle "getting some range time in."
But the unimaginable accident is one of many tragedies and controversies that have peppered the life of the star.
Dog was one of four children raised by his church minister mum and US Army officer dad in Denver, Colorado.
But he suffered regular beatings with a wooden paddle from his dad, who also battered him in boxing matches to 'toughen' him up.
In his 2007 book, You Can Run But You Can't Hide, he wrote: "Because of my religious upbringing, I thought my dad was punishing me for being a terrible sinner.
"Until very recently, I never understood that none of his abuse was my fault. Just thinking of the abuse I endured can make me cry.
Eerie link between Rachel Morin murder and second victim as Dog the Bounty Hunter joins search for suspect in Ring video
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'I was expected to take it like a man. But I wasn't a man. I was a young boy looking for love and approval from my father. I was desperate for his affection, so I ignored the pain,' he wrote.
At 13, he dropped out of school and joined a motorbike gang, the Disciples, spending the next few years in and out of jail for offences including armed robbery.
'I spent the first twenty-three years of my life on the wrong side of the law,' he later wrote. "The only thing I knew about the law was a thousand ways to break it."
As a teenager, he fathered a child with Debbie White, who kept her pregnancy from him and later took her own life.
Their son, Christopher, was adopted and only met his father after Debbie's mum told him he had a grown son.
At 19, Dog married first wife LaFonda Honeycutt and the couple had two sons Duane Lee and Leland.
Conviction for murder
Dog has tracked down 6,000 criminals in his job as a bondsman - someone who tracks down wanted criminals for a fee.
But in 1976, it was him that ended up behind bars, convicted of murder.
The 23-year-old was in a car when his friend accidentally shot an alleged drug dealer in a fight over a cannabis deal.
Under Texas law, anyone indirectly involved in a murder can also be charged.
Dog was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to five years in Texas State Penitentiary and a year later, LaFonda divorced him and married his best friend.
As a result of his conviction, he is banned from owning a firearm and instead uses a taser for his bounty hunting.
In 2012, he was barred from entering the UK, where he was due to appear as a housemate on Celebrity Big Brother, because of his criminal record.
While serving time in jail, Dog was commended for tackling a prisoner who was trying to break out.
The incident persuaded him to consider a career as a bounty hunter or ''bondsman'.
He began working independently, interviewing witnesses to track down the police's most wanted criminals, then claiming rewards on handing them in.
Daughter's rape allegation and Beth affair
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Soon after he started his new career, he met Anne Tegnell and had three more children.
One died shortly after birth and the other two – Wesley and JR - were raised by their mother.
The marriage was short-lived and in 1982, Dog wed Lyssa Britain and had three more children - Barbara, Tucker and Lyssa.
The youngest, 'Baby Lyssa', later wrote a book claiming her dad was a drug addict and her mum an alcoholic.
While still married, Dog met Beth - a blonde bombshell with a 38F chest -at a local police station where she'd been arrested for shoplifting, and the pair began an affair.
The relationship with Beth was stormy from the start, and Lyssa - who was living with her dad - claims she hated their rows so much she took desperate steps to leave, by making up a horrendous allegation.
'I [falsely] accused my father of raping me when I was 11,' Lyssa admits.
'It was a horrible life that I never wanted to go back to, living with him and Beth and the fighting and the drugs.
'When I got to my mother's, although she drank, it was much more peaceful. I was willing to do anything to not go back.'
Marriage on the rebound
After their romance faltered, in 1991, Dog was devastated when Beth married his childhood best friend, Keith Barmore, and had a daughter Cecily.
"He was a thief with a heroin habit," Dog wrote later. "It just about broke my heart when I heard Beth was dating him.
'When I heard they got married, I got physically sick.…Friends told me he was abusing her something awful."
Dog wed Tawny Marie in 1992 – but says he was 'coerced' into marrying her despite knowing she was a 'mistake.'
But Beth later admitted the pair continued seeing each other, despite their new marriages.
Beth and Dog finally divorced their partners and got back together in 1995 and she began working with him - becoming the youngest licensed bondsman in Colorado at 29.
To cement the bond the couple had two more children, Bonnie and Garry, and Dog adopted Cecily as his own.
Daughter's death
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Dog and Beth settled in Hawaii and got engaged. Then, in 2004, he landed his own TV show, Dog The Bounty Hunter.
But the couple were to suffer fresh tragedy.
Beth's beloved dad and "best friend" Garry Smith died two months before he was due to walk her down the aisle in 2006, leaving her heartbroken.
And, the night before their dream Hawaiian wedding, Dog received the horrific news that daughter Barbara, 23, had been killed in a car accident while in a stolen SUV in Alaska.
Incredibly, he went ahead with the wedding as planned, breaking the terrible news to his friends and family at the reception.
After Barbara's death, her son went to live with his biological father, Travis Mimms.
But, in October 2011, Dog and Beth stepped in and took temporary custody after hearing a recording of Travis allegedly physically abusing the nine-year-old.
Perhaps remembering his own childhood, Dog said: 'To hear the audiotape of my grandson being abused was torture.'
Beth's tragic death
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Dog's string of horrific luck continued in September 2017 when Beth was diagnosed with stage two throat cancer.
On their A&E special, Dog & Beth: Fight of Their Lives, they told viewers that she no longer had the disease after the cancer had been removed.
But in 2018, the disease returned. Dog frequently took to social media to update fans about his wife's treatment and said she was battling to get back to good health.
In an interview with the Star Advertiser, Beth said: "I'm a fighter, I'm a strong fighter – big-time survivor – and I'm gonna fight this as vigorously as it's fighting me."
In April 2019, Dog revealed that she had been admitted to the hospital and asked for prayers for her two months later on June 23.
But on June 26, Beth tragically passed away at a hospital in after being put in an induced coma while at The Queen's Medical Centre in Honolulu.
In an emotional tweet, Dog wrote: "It's 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain. Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven.
"We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side."
Love again
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In 2021, two years after Beth died, Dog found love again and tied the knot for the sixth time with Francie Frane, who had also lost her husband Bod to cancer just six months before Beth.
A day before their wedding, the couple told ET that they had written their own vows which would honour their deceased spouses.
Francie, 53, who is a rancher, said: "We have been doing that all along. We have done that privately, and in our vows, we will be honouring them. We honour them all of the time.
"And so we will continue to do that throughout their lives. Throughout our life together, we will continue to do that. They will be a part of that always."
They wed in front of family and friends in a Tuscan-style estate with incredible views.
Close friend and co-star
In 2022, Dog experienced another loss. His co-star and close friend David Robinson died suddenly at the age of 50.
David, described by wife Brooke as being 'very healthy', collapsed at home while on a zoom call on Wednesday, although no official cause of death has been announced.
In a statement to TMZ, Dog said he was 'shocked and saddened by the sudden loss'.