A drugged-up celebrity chimpanzee that appeared in a television advertisement with Morgan Fairchild and was in a show with the singer Sheryl Crow has been shot dead by police after savaging a woman in Connecticut.

Travis, a 14st (89kg) chimpanzee, attacked Charla Nash, 55, after grabbing the keys to the kitchen door and escaping from his owner’s house in Stamford on Monday afternoon. Ms Nash was critically injured.

Sandra Herold, the 70-year-old owner of the chimp, used a butcher’s knife to try and save her friend. She told police that Travis might not have recognised Ms Nash because she was wearing her hair up.

Travis, 15, was toilet trained, dressed himself, ate at the table and drank wine from a stemmed glass. He brushed his teeth, could use the internet and watched television using the remote control to find his favourite baseball games.

When he was younger Travis appeared in a television advertisement for Old Navy clothing with the actress Fairchild and was in a television pilot show with Michael Moore and Crow. He was also a guest on the Maury Povich Show. Police said that the chimpanzee was being treated for Lyme disease, which can cause mood swings, panic attacks and paranoia in humans.

When he became agitated on Monday afternoon he was given a dose of the antianxiety drug Xanax in his tea to keep him quiet. Still rowdy, he snatched the keys to open the kitchen door and began banging on cars outside to signal that he wanted to go for a ride.

“The chimpanzee was a little bit rambunctious . . . and actually took the keys to the house and opened the lock to the kitchen door and allowed itself out on to the property,” said Captain Richard Conklin, of Stamford Police Department.

Ms Herold called Ms Nash to help her to get Travis back inside. When her friend arrived Travis attacked her.

Ms Herold grabbed a butcher’s knife and tried to fight off her beloved pet, stabbing him several times. Ms Nash suffered severe lacerations to her face, neck and hands.

When police arrived Travis attacked the officers in their cars. He knocked the mirror off one patrol car before opening the door and trying to get in. One of the officers shot the chimpanzee several times.

Police followed the trail of blood to find that the wounded animal had retreated through the house to his living quarters, where he died.

It was not the first time that Travis had been in trouble with the law. In 2003 he unbuckled his seatbelt and jumped out of his owner’s car after a pedestrian threw something at him. He did not catch the man but he kept traffic at a standstill for two hours before police could apprehend him. In Connecticut it is illegal to own an exotic pet, but owners are permitted to keep animals they had before the law was passed.

“He’s been raised almost like a child by this family,” Captain Conklin said. “He rides in a car every day, he opens doors, he’s a very unique animal in that aspect. We have no indication of what provoked this behaviour at all.”

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