Tragic life of Dog the Bounty Hunter - tortured childhood, wedding horror and shock deaths

Daily Mirror

21-07-2025

As Dog the Bounty Hunter's step-grandson dies in a 'tragic accident,' we take a look at the personal heartbreaks the US TV star has endured throughout his life
American TV personality Dog the Bounty Hunter is in mourning after his step-grandson Anthony Zecca was killed in an horrific accident at the weekend.
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The shocking incident in which the 13 year old boy - the son of Dog's stepson Gregory - was shot and killed i s believed to have happened at around 8pm on Saturday July 20 in an apartment in Naples, Florida.
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Dog and his wife Francie released a statement to TMZ through a representative. It read: "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."
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Gregory, who is Francie's child from a previous marriage, is part of Dog's bounty hunting crew. He became part of Dog's personal life when he married Francie in 2021. Gregory has previously shared his passions for guns in social media posts. In one he is seen showing Anthony how to use a rifle while at a shooting range.
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This latest tragedy is not the first Dog, whose real name is Duane Chapman, has endured. Here we take a look at the heartbreak and drama that has filled the 72 year old's eventful life.
Childhood abuse
Duane was raised with his three siblings by their church minister mother and their father who was a US Army officer in Denver, Colorado. In his 2017 memoir, You Can Run But You Can't Hide, he claimed his dad abused him with beatings which he thought was to toughen him up and was a normal way to be treated.
"Because of my religious upbringing, I thought my dad was punishing me for being a terrible sinner," he wrote, according to The Express. "Until very recently, I never understood that none of his abuse was my fault. I just thought that was how all dads treated their sons."
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He said he was expected to take the beatings 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.
Murder sentence
Back in 1976 a young Dog was convicted of first-degree murder relating to the death of Jerry Oliver in Pampa, Texas. He was waiting in a car when his friend shot and killed an alleged drug dealer while trying to buy cannabis.
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Despite Duane not directly being involved in the murder, the law in Texas states that anyone indirectly involved can be charged. He was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to five years in prison but only served 18 months.
Commenting on the conviction he said: "It's something that follows you the rest of your life, no matter who you become or who you are. I'm not proud of it."
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Afterwards he chose to pursue a career upholding the law through bounty hunting. He shot to fame starring in A&E show Dog The Bounty Hunter, which followed him as he tried to catch bail jumpers.
The show ran for eight seasons from 2004. However because of his conviction he is forbidden from using firearms, which is why he uses a taser instead of a gun in his work.
Daughter's tragic death
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On the morning of his wedding to fifth wife Beth Smith, Dog was told his 23-year-old daughter, Barbara Katie Chapman, had died the day before in Alaska.
She was a passenger in a stolen SUV that crashed into a tree after leaving the road. The driver also died in the accident and authorities suspected drugs or alcohol may have been a factor.
The family decided to go ahead with the wedding to honour Barbara's memory. She left behind a nine year old son Travis Drake Lee.
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Grandson's 'abuse'
Dog was temporarily given custody of Travis after a tape was handed to court which allegedly contained evidence Travis was being physically abused by his father, Travis Mimms.
The TV star previously said: "To hear the audiotape of my grandson being abused was torture."
Dog and wife Beth took care of the child but insisted they didn't want to take him away from his dad: "I want him [Mimms Sr.] to take parenting classes. We had to get Travis [Jr.] out of that situation," he said.
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Long lost son
In 1994 Dog discovered he had a son he knew nothing about with ex-girlfriend Debbie White. Christopher Hecht was born in 1972, while Duane was in prison. After Debbie died by suicide in 1978, Christopher was adopted by Keith and Gloria Hecht.
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She said she initially told Dog to keep away but that he contacted him anyway. "He then reached out to Christopher for the first time when he was 19," she told The Sun. "When he learned Duane was his father, he was ecstatic. They started a relationship."
Christopher has had his own share of struggles and scrapes with the law. In 2021 he was sentenced to three years in jail in Colorado for a menacing charge. Dog vowed to help his son when he was released from prison.
Death of beloved wife Beth Chapman
In 2017 Beth was diagnosed with stage two throat cancer. Her battle with the disease was documented in A&E special Dog & Beth: Fight of Their Lives. After initial treatment she was given the all-clear, but the cancer returned in 2018.
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On June 26 2019, Beth was put into a medically induced coma and died aged 51 at The Queen's Medical Centre in Honolulu. Dog announced her death on Twitter. He 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."
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Although he vowed to never marry again, less than a year after she passed, Dog had proposed to his new girlfriend, Francie Frane. The couple connected through their shared grief - Francie's husband Bob had died not long before Beth.
"We understood the pain that the other one was feeling and [in] those tough days and moments, we helped each other stand up," Francie told Entertainment Tonight.
"We could cry with each other and talk about what we were feeling. We were able to walk alongside each other through the pain and heartbreak and it brought us together in this amazing way." They married in 2021.
Death of colleague
David Robinson was a member of Dog's crew. He died suddenly aged 50 in 2022 while on a Zoom call. His ex wife later confirmed the cause of death was critical coronary artery disease. Dog said he was "shocked and saddened" by his co-star and "right-hand man's" passing.