Former 'Dog The Bounty Hunter' Cast Member Justin Bihag Accused Of Stealing Beth Chapman's Ashes To Sell On Ebay
Lyssa Chapman called the police.
getty The Chapman family of Dog The Bounty Hunter fame suffered a tragic loss over the summer when Beth Chapman passed away. The 51-year old died of throat cancer in June, leaving behind 11 children and 14 grandchildren, as well as her husband Duane Chapman.
In December 2019, Lyssa Chapman, one of Duane's daughters and Beth's stepdaughter, lobbed accusations of grave robbing at the man Beth Chapman regarded as her nephew. Who is Justin Bihag?
Lyssa Chapman took to Twitter to say that Bihag, a one-time cast member on their show, was harassing her family and had even attempted to take Beth Chapman's ashes from the family home. Bihag denied all the accusations, but his tweets on the subjecty have already disappeared. Suspicious?
Now, just one month after the accusations, Bihag has been arrested — and Lyssa is the one who tipped off the police.
Did Bihag try to steal Beth Champan's ashes? What was he arrested for? Why did Lyssa call the police? Here's everything we know about this wild story.
1. Who is Justin Bihag? He's the son of Duane's new girlfriend, Moon Angell.
Fans of the show Dog The Bounty Hunter will remember Bihag as Duane Chapman's nephew, who appeared on seasons 1-6 of the show. However, Bihag isn't a blood relative to the bounty hunter, though he called Duane and Beth "Uncle" and "Aunty." Bihag is the son of Moon Angell, Duane's rumored girlfriend, whom Lyssa has been at odds with for months.
He worked with the family for years, even after a terrible car crash in 2007 that cost him his leg. He left the show after season 6 in 2011, and his relationship with the family had serious ups and downs after that.
2. He sued the Chapmans and A&E in 2014.
In 2014, the former cast member sued the show for failing to pay him. At the time, he alleged only got $28,000 for his many appearances on the show. He also claimed that Chapman and A&E promised him lucrative contracts, which they never actually delivered. It's not clear why he didn't insist on having a contract in place before agreeing to do the show.
He also claimed that the Chapmans used his accident as fodder for publicity, saying, "Once the Chapmans were informed of the accident, they proceeded to do interviews with the media to use the accident as a promotional tool for the show." He claimed that in the years after the show, he had a drug problem, lost custody of his child and suffered from depression.
Bihag lost the suit, according to court documents. The court found that releases he had signed prior to filming negated his claims that he was owed more than what he got.
3. Bihag has since made up with Duane Chapman.
According to Bihag's Instagram page, he is back in good graces with Duane Chapman these days. In a post from October, Bihag can be seen sharing a meal with the bounty hunter and the two look relaxed together.
He wrote in the caption, "No matter what has happened in our lives, just a dinner and a talk can help the soul, and our futures! Love you unks, and while people think this is the END, little do they know, this is just the BEGINNING! #ohanaforlife #nevergiveup."
In July, shortly after Beth Chapman's death from cancer, he tweeted about missing her memorial and offered his condolences to the family, saying, "I am saddened I could not get to Colorado to see your memorial aunty @MrsdogC, but I know, you know, I love you more than anything and at least my momma got to go and be with you on this day! R.I.P. @MrsdogC love you Uncle @DogBountyHunter I'm saddened beyond relief! Smh."
Bihag and Chapman have reconciled.
4. Lyssa Chapman recently made a startling accusation against him.
Not everyone is feeling warm and fuzzy about Bihag, however. Beth and Duane's daughter Lyssa Chapman has accused Bihag of using the family's grief for his own gain. In one tweet, Lyssa actually accused Bihag of trying to steal her stepmother's remains from their home with the intent of selling them on Ebay.
This followed a series of tweets where she accused Bihag of being a drug addict who has been harassing her for months.
5. What does Bihag say about all of this?
Bihag replied to the accusations on Twitter, though he has since deleted the tweets. Reportedly, he wrote, "So, 'I guess' it's ok nowadays ,to get white girl wasted, give out someone's number, spread drunk babbles that aren't even true, when I'm next to your father right now [Baby Lyssa] working hard as usual, and im sure this was just a bad nite! We all have them! Aloha!"
He followed up, saying, "No, and no, read, White Girl Wasted, I wouldn't be by your dad if it was even close to true! I've had bad nights, this u know! More lately for everyone so, and look at HISTORY, I've always came back when needed to! #BeforeDayOne"
His final tweet said, "Too funny, anybody can gang up and make something of nothing because of a drunken or bad nite, and believe it, I stand alone against anybody!" Bihag continued. "Nobody is seeing what Uncle wants and needs! I think that's the problem!"
One tweet about the incident remains. He was replying to a user who asked, "So none of that really happened??" Bihag responded with a simple "Nope."
6. Has Duane Chapman responded to any of this?
If Chapman has anything to say about all of this, he is saying it in private. There's nothing on his social media feeds responding to either his daughter or his nephew at this time.
Since the December 18 tweetstorm, Lyssa Chapman has been focused on tweeting at Moon Angell, who is allegedly dating her father.
7. Bihag was recently arrested for violating his parole.
On Sunday, January 12, Bihag was arrested in Colorado after violating the terms of his parole related to a domestic abuse charge. The arrest report says Lyssa Chapman is the one who told the police. Bihag was allegedly using drugs and drinking, both violations.
When police arrived, they claimed the location smelled like alcohol and there were signs of marijuana use in the home. Bihag called Duane, who tried to calm him down, but Bihag was later arrested.
According to Lyssa, she told police about Bihag because of a woman named Megan who reached out to her on social media. Megan claimed Bihag was drinking and being aggressive, and Chapman also added she had seen videos of Bihag with alcohol.
Though Lyssa claimed it was nothing personal, as she's been putting criminals behind bars her whole life, it sure seems that way. Especially after she later tweeted, "Nothing like a good dose of JUSTICE. One down, one to go." Ouch.
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.