Owner of chimp in Conn. attack dies

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An attorney says a Connecticut woman whose chimpanzee mauled and blinded her friend has died.

Robert Golger says his client, Sandy Herold, died Monday night of a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

Herold owned a 200-pound chimpanzee named Travis who went berserk in February 2009 after Herold asked her friend, Charla Nash, to help lure it back into her house in Stamford. The animal ripped off Nash's hands, nose, lips and eyelids.

Nash recently underwent a preliminary evaluation to determine whether she is a potential candidate for a face and hand transplant at a Harvard-affiliated hospital.

Nash's family has sued Herold for $50 million and wants to sue the state for $150 million. The family says state officials failed to prevent the attack.