Woman's body parts found in 13-foot alligator's mouth

Emergency responders and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission killed the reptile after they pulled it out of the canal

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Published: Mon 25 Sep 2023, 2:48 PM

The remains of a woman were found inside an alligator's jaws in Florida last week. The victim was dragged into a canal by the reptile, which was later caught and killed by police, according to media reports.

The body of the woman, identified as 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham, was discovered on September 22 in a waterway in Largo, Florida. Residents saw a 13-foot alligator making its way into the canal while clutching the remains of Peckham in its mouth. The matter was reported to the police, after which emergency responders and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission managed to pull the reptile out of the canal, reported the Daily Mail.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the 13-foot (8.5-inch) alligator was "humanely killed and removed from the waterway". Police said, "Deputies assigned to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Dive Team also recovered the remains of a deceased adult from the waterway".

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The body was later identified and sent for autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death.

"A lot of my neighbours were out here, and they're the ones that told me about the gator. While we were standing here, we heard a shot; I assume they killed the gator," Jennifer Dean, a local resident, told Bay News 9. Dean added that she had never seen an alligator that big in the area before.

Another person, JaMarcus Bullard, who saw the alligator, said, "I could tell there was a body in his mouth, so I started recording. I came down to the fire department and reported it to them".

According to him, the alligator was shot 'a few times'. "[The alligator] lifted out of the water with the body, and it was just clamped onto it. And then it just swam backwards under to like the bottom canal under me, and it went on the other side. I just couldn't believe it was real," a neighbour who alerted authorities told 10 Tampa Bay.

According to the New York Post, Sabrina Peckham was arrested on July 14 for trespassing onto a county wetland just around 800 metres from where she got killed. Peckham had ignored the signage warning against trespassing and was arrested. She was later released and ordered to pay $500 (Dh1,836).

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