Woman Identified as Victim of Alligator Attack in Florida
By [Author Name]
Florida authorities have identified the woman who was tragically killed in an alligator attack, after her body was pulled from a waterway in Pinellas County. The victim has been identified as 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a 13-foot alligator with a corpse in its mouth in a canal in Largo. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Peckham was the victim of the Friday attack. The alligator was subsequently “humanely killed” and removed from the canal.
The coroner’s office is set to perform an autopsy to officially determine Peckham’s cause and manner of death. It is currently suspected that she was killed by the alligator.
Prior to the incident, Peckham had been arrested for trespassing in a wetland area near the waterway. The incident, which occurred two months ago, resulted in a $500 fine. Peckham’s daughter, Breauna Dorris, revealed in a heartfelt Facebook post that her mother was homeless and had been living near the body of water.
The family has started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for funeral expenses, and over $4,000 has been raised so far. Peckham’s tragic demise was recorded by witnesses before authorities arrived at the scene. JaMarcus Bullard, who first alerted the authorities, described the horrifying sight of the alligator holding onto the lower part of the victim’s torso. He threw a rock at the alligator in an effort to intervene before running to the local fire station for help.
The 13-foot, 8.5-inch male alligator was later killed by sheriff’s deputies and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Jennifer Dean, a resident of the area, expressed her shock at the incident, stating that while alligators were not uncommon in the waterway, she had never seen one as large as this.
This tragic event took place near Taylor Lake, where a similar alligator attack resulted in the death of a 47-year-old man last year. The man’s body was recovered missing three limbs.
The incident serves as a reminder of the potential dangers of wildlife encounters in Florida’s waterways and the importance of caution when accessing these areas. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack, and the community mourns the loss of Sabrina Peckham.