Police in Florida are investigating the death of a woman whose remains were found Friday in the mouth of a 13-foot alligator.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area said Saturday that the victim was identified as Sabrina Peckham, 41.
The county’s medical examiner’s office is working to determine the manner and cause of her death.
Ms. Peckham’s remains were discovered around 1:50 p.m. Friday, when deputies received a report of human remains in a waterway in Largo.
“I threw a rock at the gator just to see if it was really a gator, and like it pulled the body, like it was holding on to the lower part of the torso, and pulled it under the water,” witness Jamarcus Bullard told Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA-TV.
Officers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the scene to remove and euthanize the gator, authorities said.
Court records show Ms. Peckham in July was charged with trespassing on county wetlands near where her remains were discovered Friday.
She was released Sept. 8 and ordered to pay $500.
Ms. Peckham previously had been convicted of theft and drug offenses.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.