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The grave of Alonzo Brooks -- who was mysteriously found dead after a 2004 party in Kansas -- has been dug up on the heels of "Unsolved Mysteries" bringing new attention to the cold case.

Alonzo's body was exhumed Tuesday morning in Topeka after the FBI recently reopened the case. The new Netflix series covered Alonzo's disappearance and death -- and his family says tips have been coming in since the new docuseries dropped.

For those who haven't seen it ... 23-year-old Alonzo went to a party in La Cygne, KS in April 2004 with some friends, where he was believed to be one of few black people. Witnesses described the crowd as mostly white, redneck and racist types.

His friend says Alonzo nearly got into a fight with one guy over a girl -- but still stayed at the party, even after his friends left. He never made it back home.

The following day, Brooks' boots and hat were found across the road from the house party property. However, his body wasn't discovered until May 1, 2004 in a nearby creek.

Initial medical reports listed his death as inconclusive due to the advanced decomposition of the body, and authorities were left with little concrete evidence. However, those close to him were certain he did not commit suicide or accidentally drown ... they believed he was murdered.

Joe Exotic's old 'Tiger King' zoo might have human remains buried there after all -- at least that's what Jeff Lowe thinks -- and some cadaver dogs are allegedly pointing there.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Jeff contacted the same company that visited the GW Exotic Animal Park a couple weeks back for a second opinion, and this time FOUR cadaver dogs came and gave a positive alert.

We're told the hounds -- 4 different dogs at 4 different times -- picked up the scent of human remains ... once again, by the alligator pit.

Our sources say the company swears by the accuracy of its dogs and believes the local sheriff's deputies didn't take this seriously earlier in the month, and handled the excavation incorrectly to boot.

We broke the story ... 2 cadaver dogs were previously brought to the zoo as part of an episode of Zak Bagans' "Ghost Adventures" and picked up a scent near the same gator pit.

However, law enforcement found no human remains -- just some animal bones that appeared to be the skeleton of small animal with a tail -- and considered the matter closed.

Our sources say Jeff and co. want officials to come by again for a more thorough investigation ... because the cadaver dog owners are doggone serious something's up.

As we reported, sources connected to Joe say he scattered ashes from several bodies on the property -- because the people who died wanted it that way -- but that's it.

Carole Baskin ... what the fudge is this??

The 'Tiger King' star's been cashing in doing Cameo vids for a bit now, but her latest submission -- a birthday shout-out to a fan named Charlotte -- is ... well, priceless.

Carole -- joined by her husband Howard -- kicks off the video message with her tagline, "Hey all you cool cats and kittens," before saying they're "here with the crip mates" to wish Charlotte a happy bday.

And, then it gets REALLY interesting.

Watch for yourself ... pretty sure 50 Cent's "In Da Club" has never been done like this. And it probably shouldn't be ever again.

Something's rotten at the original "Tiger King" zoo, now owned by Jeff Lowe -- 2 cadaver dogs have zeroed in on what their trainer believes are human remains ... TMZ has learned.

We're told the dogs were brought in as part of an episode of Zak Bagans' "Ghost Adventures." Our sources say the dogs picked up the scent Thursday ... in the alligator pit.

The local sheriff's deputies are on the scene right now, and we're told they're currently discussing a method to determine if remains are there ... and, if so, how to dig them up safely.

The zoo, in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, was originally Joe Exotic's baby ... before he partnered with Jeff, and then got convicted in federal court for murder-for-hire and various animal abuse charges. He's currently serving a 22 year sentence.

Sources connected with Joe tell TMZ ... Joe has said there are ashes of 4 people buried on the property as a memorial --  people who chose to make the zoo their final resting place. The sources did not identify whose ashes were there.

These babysitters are making some serious loot ... 3 of the stars of "The Baby-Sitters Club" reboot are getting huge paydays!!!

14-year-old actresses Shay Rudolph, Sophie Grace and Xochitl Gomez are making quite the bundle to look after babies and hang out with their BFFs on Netflix's new adaption of Ann M. Martin’s coming-of-age novels.

According to the girls' minors contracts -- obtained by TMZ -- Shay, Sophie and Xochitl are each raking in a cool $15,000 per episode for the first season.

Shay, who plays Stacey McGill, and Sophie, who plays Kristy Thomas, are getting paid for 9 episodes in the 10-episode season ... so they're each earning a pretty hefty $135,000 overall. Pretty good babysitting gig.

Xochitl, who plays Dawn Shaefer, is getting paid for 7 episodes ... so she's taking home $105,000. Still, not bad.

If the reboot gets picked up for more seasons, the teen stars are in line for even bigger paychecks. The trio would each earn $16,500 per episode in the 2nd season, $18,150 per episode in the 3rd, $19,965 per episode in the 4th and $21,961.50 per episode if it goes all the way to a 5th season.

Netflix's revival of "Unsolved Mysteries" might need to change its name to "Case Closed" -- because the team's getting inundated with new leads that may very well crack some of these cases.

The show's original creator, Terry Dunn Meurer, is once again heading up the rebooted series ... and she tells TMZ that skyrocketing popularity and renewed interest has yielded some actual tips she and her team believe could lead to more clues -- or, in some cases, arrests.

Terry says 'Unsolved' has received upwards of 1,500 tips over their 6 new episodes up on the streaming service -- and of those ... she tells us about 50 were flagged as possibly legit and forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

And, get this ... she says the one that is most likely to get buttoned up first is the case of Alonzo Brooks ... who disappeared from a Kansas party in the early 2000s.

If you're unfamiliar ... 22-year-old Alonzo and a group of friends went to a party in rural Kansas, where he ended up being the only black guy there among what's described as a bunch of rednecks and cowboy types ... with one of whom he almost fought.

His pals eventually dispersed -- and Alonzo never made it home. A month later, his body was found in a creek. He'd been murdered.

The killing was considered a hate crime, but investigators could never link it to anyone -- the case went unsolved for years. Terry, however, says that could change soon -- as her crew has forwarded names to the FBI ... which recently reopened his case.

Here's another thing -- one uber-popular installment in the new 'Unsolved' series chronicles the supposed suicide of Rey Rivera ... whom many fans speculate might have planned and carried out his own death after the '90s flick, "The Game," and its famous rooftop jump scene.

Michele Morrone is quickly learning it pays to be tall, dark and handsome ... the "365 Days" star just scored his first big-time modeling gig, which comes with a fat payday!!!

Famous fashion designer Paul Marciano tells TMZ ... Michele just signed a deal to be the next male model for a couple holiday campaigns this year with Marciano and Guess by Marciano.

Paul says Michele, fresh off his stunning performance as Massimo in Netflix's No. 1 movie, will start shooting the campaign next week at a lavish villa in Lake Como, Italy.

We're told Michele's shoot will include 2 female models ... and he'll be modeling dressy clothing items -- fine menswear only for his debut with the company.

No surprise, but we're told Paul's wife gave a big thumbs up when he flew to meet MM in Switzerland to negotiate the deal. She's a fan after seeing '365.'

Our sources say Michele scored a 6-figure deal ... which will have him doing photoshoots, social media obligations, public appearances and possibly a runway show. And yes, he is getting paid more than the average male model -- thanks to his smash hit movie role.

Here's how quickly the guy's life is changing ... Michele told Paul that before his big movie break, he was making $600 a month as a gardener and was prepared to go back to the low-paying job if needed.

That same day, Michele went to a Marciano fashion show and impressed everyone with the way he worked the room. A few hours later the deal was sealed.

Carole Baskin's is making a FORTUNE recording personalized messages, but fact of the matter is she's also left TONS of dough on the table ... 'cause she's turned down lots of requests from people who want her to talk about her missing and presumed dead husband.

Carole tells TMZ ... she's gotten over 600 Cameo requests so far, but along the way, she's had to decline requests from people who are trying to get her to talk about the fate of her missing husband.

She tells us, "I decline their requests to say things that would make fun of my husband's disappearance because that was such a tragic time in my life, and in that of those who loved him."

Joe Exotic's nemesis from the hit Netflix docuseries, 'Tiger King,' tells us she doesn't think the people making those requests are doing it to be mean spirited, but regardless of how long it's been, talking about her missing husband's a sore subject.

As we've reported ... Jack "Don" Lewis hasn't been seen since August 18, 1997. It's still an active cold case even though he was declared legally dead 5 years after his disappearance. Nobody was charged in his death ... but theories have been spinning like crazy since 'Tiger King' aired, with hardcore Joe Exotic fans pointing the finger at Carole. She's repeatedly denied having anything to do with Don's disappearance or death.

The sheriff in charge of the investigation has told TMZ he knows Don is dead and believes there reason to be suspicious of Carole, although he says she's not a suspect at this time.

That, apparently, hasn't stopped people from not only asking Carole -- who charges $200 per request -- to talk about her missing husband but also editing Cameo videos to make it seem like she's incriminating herself. TBH, the videos are terribly edited. Watch for yourself. A Cameo video talking about someone saying "I do" for their wedding was edited to make it seem like she admitted guilt in Don's demise.

BTW, if ya saw her Cameo videos when she debuted on the platform last week, you may have noticed some of the bizarre videos that literally made no sense. Carole's got an explanation: "People ask me to say some really bizarre things that are clearly inside jokes for them and their friends, so I do, with the exception of saying things that I found to be hurtful in the 'Tiger King' series."

Carole Baskin is making lots of dough with personalized messages ... but making sense of what she said -- well, that's a whole other thing.

She recorded this message for a guy who goes by Robin Hood 702 ... a guy who apparently has worked with authorities on various cases. 702, btw, is the area code for Vegas.

Listen to what she says ... Carole is making reference to the MGM lion. Well, there have been rumblings a tiger or 2 may make its way to Vegas for one of the shows, but here she's talking about a lion never being "tattered" so those dots don't connect.

She also mentions David Chesnoff, a prominent lawyer who has Vegas wired, but she never explains what she means when she says he's hold up in the Penninsula.

And, then she mentions Patty Glaser, a super-powerful L.A. lawyer. Again, connecting the dots is damn near impossible.

Colin Kaepernick's origin story is getting the Netflix treatment -- in the form of a 6-episode series based on the QB's high school years.

Netflix says the scripted drama is called "Colin In Black & White" -- which will address the issues Colin had growing up as a Black man in an adopted white family.

"Too often we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens," Kaepernick said. "We seek to give new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face."

Netflix says 32-year-old Kaepernick is working alongside Academy Award nominee Ava DuVernay on the project ... and adds the script for the show was finished last month.

"With his act of protest, Colin Kaepernick ignited a national conversation about race and justice with far-reaching consequences for football, culture and for him, personally,” DuVernay said.

"Colin’s story has much to say about identity, sports and the enduring spirit of protest and resilience. I couldn’t be happier than to tell this story with the team at Netflix."

Kaepernick famously moved to Northern California when he was 4 years old after he was adopted by a white family ... and ended up being a star athlete in his teenage years at Pitman H.S. in Turlock.

Joe Exotic's former zoo in Oklahoma is being investigated over concerns for the welfare of its animals -- specifically the lions -- but Jeff Lowe says everything's being done right to take care of them ... but it's a challenge.

TMZ's learned a whistleblower provided PETA with photos and video of lions at the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park -- which Lowe took over after Exotic -- suffering from severe flystrike ... a condition in which flies bite and lay eggs on other animals and destroy their skin.

The photos show lions at the zoo with bloody ears with the tips severely damaged, and also covered in flies. Flystrike can be very painful and even deadly to animals if not treated.

Lowe tells TMZ the animals are being treated, though, as flies have been a constant problem at the zoo for years ... because it's located near a big horse farm.

Lowe says the GW Zoo spends thousands a month on medications for the lions, tigers and other animals, along with fly repellent. Problem is, Lowe says most repellents can also be harmful to the animals ... so they have to be careful.

He says this is just one of the many reasons he's moving the animals to his new zoo, Tiger King Park, as soon as possible.

Still, PETA has asked the USDA to conduct a welfare check on the animals, which local law enforcement reported is already being done after receiving numerous calls about the issue.

The Oklahoma Department Of Wildlife Conservation tells us it conducted a welfare check of the native animals at the zoo -- including bobcats, mountain lions and bears -- and found the animals to be in good health and described the situation as in "good shape."

The USDA is responsible for the exotic animals, however. We reached out to the agency about its investigation ... so far no word back.

Harry Jowsey only dated Francesca Farago for publicity and clout, and never genuinely loved her ... according to one of their former "Too Hot To Handle" costars.

Haley Cureton, who got extremely close with Francesca before getting booted from the Netflix reality dating show, tells TMZ ... she's 100 percent convinced Harry only got with FF to extend his 15 minutes of fame beyond the show.

The way Haley sees it ... Harry first fell for Francesca's looks -- because who wouldn't -- and then realized he could ride the model's coattails.

Haley thinks Harry isn't capable of loving anyone besides himself ... and she thinks he never genuinely cared about Francesca or her feelings.

If you've seen the show, all the evidence of Harry's true colors is there ... according to Haley. She points to him lying about who initiated the first kiss with Francesca ... a move that cost the whole cast prize money.

As we reported ... Harry and Francesca stayed together after the show, but this week they finally broke up. Francesca said he broke up with her because he couldn't do a long-distance relationship anymore.

Francesca won't be lonely for too long, even with Harry outta the picture ... Haley says they're talking about moving in together to let the good times roll.

Dave Chappelle responded to Don Lemon's call for celebs to speak out on the death of George Floyd in a big way ... tearing into the CNN anchor on a surprise special he dropped early Friday morning.

Netflix released the Chappelle special on its YouTube comedy channel, and it's all about Dave addressing Floyd's killing by police and the ensuing protests to end racism and police brutality.

Chappelle also blasted Lemon for urging celebrities to use their platforms to talk about Floyd and the national unrest his death caused ... saying people don't need or want to hear from celebs right now. As only Dave could put it ... "Do we give a f**k what Ja Rule thinks?!"

He added ... the streets are speaking for themselves, and he isn't about to get in the way of trying to speak over that. Fittingly, the special is titled "8:46" ... the length of time accused murderer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on George's neck.

The surprise stand-up special was filmed outside on June 6 in Beavercreek, Ohio, in front of a masked, socially-distanced audience, and it's a lot less comedy than usual for Dave ... and more powerful commentary.

If you're wondering... Don's seen it, and he isn't pissed.

Friday morning, Lemon said he's honored to be mentioned by his favorite comedian and even jokes his nieces and nephews will think he's cool now, but also concedes that Dave makes a good point ... a lot of people don't care about celebrities' opinions.

Don says he welcomes Chappelle's criticism and encourages it because it brings more attention to the topic, and still thinks it's important for people like Dave and himself to use their large audience to spread that message.

Dave Chappelle unloaded on Laura Ingraham -- calling her a "white bitch" for telling LeBron James to "shut up and dribble."

The comedian brought up Ingraham on his new Netflix special, "8:46"-- which took its name after the time George Floyd suffered in police custody before his death.

Roughly 15:30 into the set, Chappelle brings up his friend LeBron James and the way the Fox News host told him to "shut up and dribble" after he spoke out against Trump in 2018.

"LeBron James once said something about racism and Laura Ingraham, which I will say publicly anywhere anytime is a c*** told one of Ohio's greatest residents ever to 'Shut up and dribble.'"

Chappelle continued, "This bitch told my friend to shut up and dribble."

"My friend is the best at something. And this bitch is not the best at anything. Just a regular-ass white bitch with a platform. And I use the word 'bitch' all the time because [it's a black thing]."

Ingraham recently addressed criticism she's been getting for the different way she criticized Drew Brees when he spoke out against.  NFL kneelers.

"Every American has the God-given right to speak his mind on any issue," Ingraham said.

"I think in order to heal and shed light on gross injustices, our country needs more dialogue, not less. And we need more respect, less retribution."

Joe Exotic says the prison he's in is shutting him off from the outside world, but officials there say it was nothing personal -- the whole facility was on pause for a bit.

A rep for the Bureau of Prisons -- the federal agency overseeing Joe's new home in Fort Worth, TX -- tells TMZ ... all of their prison institutions went on a national lockdown last week in response to protests and riots breaking out.

While they were on lockdown, BOP says inmates temporarily had limited access to phones and email -- but as of Monday, lockdown's been lifted and everything's pretty much the same as it was before.

In regards to letters Joe claims he hasn't received -- implying prison guards are keeping them from him, including potential mail from his hubby, Dillon -- BOP flat-out denies that. We're told even during lockdown, snail mail was being delivered to inmates like usual.

As we reported ... Joe said Dillon had gone ice cold on him in terms of communication, but Dillon says he'd been sending letters, and is dismayed to hear Joe's not getting them.

Now, BOP refused to comment on Joe's specific living or medical conditions -- which he described as hellish -- for safety and privacy reasons.

Joe Exotic says he's at the end of his rope, and might not be around much longer if he doesn't get some immediate help from President Trump ... or Cardi B ... or Kim Kardashian.

TMZ's obtained a letter penned by the imprisoned 'Tiger King' star this week to his "Supporters, Fans, Loves Ones." He opens by saying the pandemic's over, so he's asking POTUS to grant him a miracle and free him ... but it's pretty bleak from there.

Joe says, "My soul is dead" and he's struggling to keep hope in what he describes as some pretty miserable conditions behind bars. He also claims he's being tormented by people sending him info about his husband, Dillon Passage, living it up on the outs and partying without him. Joe also says Dillon's gone radio silent on him.

On top of all this, Exotic claims he's not getting treatment and meds for his health conditions, and he makes a dark prediction -- "I'll be dead in 2-3 months."

Joe compares his prison sentence to death row, makes it clear he feels abandoned ... and takes some shots at people he believes took advantage of him and stabbed him in the back.

There are some more questionable parts to the letter too -- including racial comments suggesting he'd get treated better if he were a different color ... and saying George Floyd's message got lost with the rioting. Oh, and there's a Michael Jackson song reference too.

In the end, Exotic maintains his innocence ... and tosses a final Hail Mary to Cardi and Kim in hopes they'll catch it and help him out. The Cardi ship may have already sailed, though.

Of course, Joe still has a legal team working hard to get a pardon from Trump, but if this letter's to be believed ... the clock's ticking.