Phaninc-Woman's body found in jaws of Florida alligator

2025-05-01 20:43:45source:Surpassingcategory:Contact

A body which was spotted in the jaws of a 13-foot alligator in Largo,Phaninc Florida, has been identified as a 41-year-old woman, authorities said Saturday.  

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reports that the situation unfolded a little before 2 p.m. local time Friday, when deputies were called to an unincorporated part of Largo — located in the Tampa Bay area — after the body of the victim, later identified as Sabrina Peckham, was spotted in a waterway.

Neighbor JaMarcus Bullard told CBS affiliate WTSP that he discovered the victim in the jaws of an alligator and called 911.

"It (the alligator) lifted up out of the water with the body, like it was just clamped onto it, and it like swam backwards, like, under to the bottom of the canal to the other side," Bullard said.

"I just couldn't believe it was real," he added.

Deputies and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers responded and "humanely killed" the alligator, the sheriff's office said.

A dive team then recovered Peckham's remains from the canal.

No further details on the circumstances leading up to the discovery were released. The Pinellas County medical examiner is still working to determine the manner and cause of her death, the sheriff's office said, and the investigation into the case ongoing. 

In March, in nearby St. Petersburg, a missing 2-year-old boy was found dead in the mouth of an alligator, two days after the boy's mother was found murdered in their family's apartment.

The boy's father was later charged with two counts of murder in their deaths. 

    In:
  • Florida
  • Alligator
  • Tampa Bay

More:Contact

Recommend

How 23andMe's bankruptcy led to a run on the gene bank

Reporter Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi's Aunt Vovi signed up for 23andMe back in 2017, hoping to learn more a

Adele Pauses Concert to Survey Audience on Titanic Sub After Tragedy at Sea

Like millions of other people, Adele was also captivated by the Titan submersible tragedy this week—

Warming Trends: Americans’ Alarm Grows About Climate Change, a Plant-Based Diet Packs a Double Carbon Whammy, and Making Hay from Plastic India

CULTUREThe Growing Alarm About Climate ChangeThe number of Americans alarmed about global warming no