Newly released bodycam video shows the moment that authorities put to death a massive alligator that had recently killed a Florida woman.
Last September, a Florida man noticed what appeared to be a human body hanging out of the mouth of a huge alligator in Pinellas County.
The witness, Jamarcus Bullard, told WTVT at the time, “I noticed it had a body in its mouth, like a lower torso, so once I saw that, I ran straight to the fire department and got them, they confirmed it was a body.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was called to the grisly scene and discovered the body of 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham was in the alligator’s mouth. Bodycam footage from the FWC shows authorities wrangling the massive alligator with ropes and chains. Suddenly in the bodycam video released last week, one of the officers is seen using a rifle to shoot and “humanely” kill the animal.
The gator – nearly 14 feet in length – was later dissected, and some of Peckham’s remains were found inside the beast.
Peckham was a homeless woman who lived in a campsite roughly 35-45 feet away from the canal where the alligator attack occurred. Investigators found no evidence that the alligator attacked the woman at the campsite in Largo, Florida.
Peckham’s family last saw her a day before the deadly alligator attack. A park ranger reported seeing the woman near the canal a week before her tragic death.
Peckham’s daughter, Breanna Dorris, shared her grief during a vigil held in September.
The heartbroken daughter said at the time of her mother’s death, “It’s surreal, but I’m super grateful her community can pull together in times like this. It shows we have an amazing support team behind us in times of tragedy,”
Doris wrote a Facebook post that read: “The past 24 hours have been filled with grief and sorrow and unbearable pain for our family. My mother, Sabrina Peckham, was the victim of the alligator attack at McKay Creek. She was a part of the homeless population living in the nearby wooded area. It’s believed she may have been walking to or from her campsite near the creek in the dark when the gator attacked.”
Since the fatal incident, Pinellas County has installed fencing and signs warning people to stay away from the canal.
The canal, known as McKay Creek, connects Ridgecrest Lake and Taylor Lake. Alligators have been known to use this waterway to travel between the two lakes.
You can watch the chilling bodycam video here.
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