A 13-foot alligator was killed by Florida officials on Sept. 25 after it was seen with “a body in his mouth” on Sept. 22.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office stated that they had “humanely killed” the alligator after getting several reports during the previous weekend of a body in the waterway.
A witness had told Spectrum Bay News 9 that he had seen the body “in the alligator’s mouth” before it was pulled under the water.
Deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had euthanized the alligator before pulling it out of the water. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the alligator was one of the largest recorded by length since 1977 at 13 feet, 8.5 inches. The longest recorded alligator in the state is a 14-foot, 3.5-inch alligator from Lake Washington in Brevard County found in 2010.
Dr. Frank Mazzotti, a professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Florida said in interviews with news stations that alligators attacking humans unprovoked is very rare. Dr. Mazzotti stated, “When you go to the water’s edge you are in much more danger of drowning than you are of being bitten by an alligator.”
The remains were identified as Sabrina Peckham, 41, and her cause of death is still under investigation.
Breauna Dorris, Peckham’s daughter, told local news stations that her mother has struggled with homelessness and drug addiction. “Me knowing that she was staying 50 feet from where it happened, I prayed, I hope it’s not her, I hope it’s not her,” said Dorris. “Later that evening, law enforcement arrived at my door and pretty much told me that it was her and she was gone.”
Dorris also stated she wanted her mother to be remembered for who she was, a lady that was nice to everyone, and not her struggles.
A candlelight vigil was held for Peckham on Sept. 29 with dozens of people in attendance.
“It’s devastating to hear that you lost a loved one like that,” said Dorris, “It’s a lot harder knowing that your loved one didn’t get to pass peacefully or easy, that it was gruesome, and hard, and painful on her.”
Dorris also thanked members of the community who set up a memorial close to where Peckham had died, stating that her mother would have been honored with the amount of people who cared about her.
