Chimp Attack Victim Pictures: Carla Nash Before and After Photo Slideshow (2025)

Chimp Attack Victim Pictures: Carla Nash Before and After Photo Slideshow (1)

(Handout)

Photo: Charla Nash with Travis the chimpanzee.

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) On Wednesday, Charla Nash revealed her gravely disfigured face on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," appearing on television for the first time since she sustained major injuries in a brutal chimpanzee attack in February.

PICTURES: Chimp Victim Charla Nash (Warning Graphic Images)

In photos before the attack, she sports a wide smile, her eyes sparkling.

Chimp Attack Victim Pictures: Carla Nash Before and After Photo Slideshow (2)

(ABC News)

Photo: Charla Nash about to reveal her new, disfigured face on Oprah.
PICTURES: Chimp Victim Charla Nash (Warning Graphic Images)

Not anymore. Nash lost her eyes, nose, and hands during a horrific 12-minute mauling by her friend's 200-pound pet chimpanzee, Travis. Now, Nash is blind, can't smell and must eat through a straw, she told Winfrey.

But Nash's indomitable spirit remains. "I want to get healthy," she said on the show. "I don't want to wake up with nightmares."

She also said she wasn't angry. "I don't even think about it," she told Winfrey.

Chimp Attack Victim Pictures: Carla Nash Before and After Photo Slideshow (3)

(Handout)

Photo: Travis the chimp and owner Sandra Herold.
PICTURES: Chimp Victim Charla Nash (Warning Graphic Images)

The Nash family has sued the animal's owner, Sandra Herold, for $50 million, saying she was negligent and reckless for lacking the ability to control "a wild animal with violent propensities."

Herold's attorney says attack was work-related and the case should be treated as a workers' compensation claim. Nash denied she was Herold's employee. Herold ran a towing business out of the same home where she kept the animal.

Nash's family also filed notice with Connecticut's Office of Claims Commissioner this month, asking for permission to sue the state for $150 million, saying officials failed to prevent the attack. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has said his office is reviewing the claim.

PICTURES: Chimp Victim Charla Nash

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
November 12, 2009 - "Oprah Chimp Victim" Charla Nash Wants $50M, Chimp Owner Lawyers Call it Work Accident
November 12, 2009 - Oprah: Chimp Victim Charla Nash (Warning Graphic Pictures) Says She Doesn't Remember Attack
November, 11, 2009 - Charla Nash Pictures After Attack: Eyes, Hands, Mouth Gone, But Will to Live Carries On

Chimp Attack Victim Pictures: Carla Nash Before and After Photo Slideshow (2025)

FAQs

What were the injuries to Carla Nash? ›

The accident occurred in the Stamford home of her friend, Sandra Herold, who was the owner of the chimpanzee. Nash approached Travis, and Travis uncharacteristically attacked. According to medics, Nash's hair had been ripped out, her eyes injured, and hands disfigured.

Is Charla Nash still alive? ›

Nash, now in her late 60s, spends her time listening to audiobooks and music, but she is still blind from the attack. She may not have lost her life, but the woman she was is all but gone — she even wears another person's face entirely.

Why did Travis the chimpanzee attack? ›

Herold speculated that Travis was being protective of her and attacked Nash because she had a different hairstyle, was driving a different car and held a stuffed toy in front of her face to get the chimp's attention.

When did Kevin Nash get injured? ›

Because when you look back, Kevin Nash tearing his quad in July 2002 altered the course of multiple things in the WWE. So I've always wondered what the rest of 2002 and beyond would have looked like had Nash not gotten injured.

Does Charla Nash have brain damage? ›

She also suffered brain damage, possible blindness and several broken bones in her face from the brutal mauling, which shocked even hardened medical pros.

What happened to Charla Nash's arms? ›

In February, 2009, 14-year-old chimpanzee Travis attacked Charla Nash, a friend of the woman who “owned” him. He tore off her nose, ears and hands, and blinded her as his owner, Sandra Herold, frantically beat him, stabbed him and called the police. When they arrived at her home in Connecticut, they shot Travis dead.

Are chimps stronger than humans? ›

The strength of one chimpanzee is estimated to be equivalent to the strength of 5 men.

Can Charla still see? ›

After a 200-pound chimp mauled off parts of her face and hands, leaving her permanently blind, Charla Nash achieved the unthinkable by undergoing a successful face transplant about five years ago.

Where is Travis the Chimp buried? ›

The remains were cremated at All Pets Crematory in Stamford on February 25, 2009.

Where does Charla Nash live? ›

Charla Nash, 57, now lives in a nursing home outside of Boston. She had gone to Herold's home on the day of the attack to help lure Herold's 200-pound chimpanzee, Travis, back into her home. But the animal went berserk and ripped off Nash's nose, lips, eyelids and hands before being shot to death by a police officer.

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