Alligator Attacks and Kills South Carolina Woman

An alligator attacked and killed a South Carolina woman as she walked her dog near a golf course in a Hilton Head community.

According to NBC News, Holly Jenkins, 69, was found dead in the Spanish Wells community. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that the woman was found at the edge of lagoon. The alligator appeared to be guarding the woman’s body. The alligator was finally removed and the woman’s body was recovered.

According to ABC News, an autopsy revealed Jenkins drowned and experienced blunt force trauma due to the attack. She also suffered alligator bites, but it’s unclear if it happened before or after her death.

A necropsy performed on the alligator after it was euthanized showed no evidence that anyone had fed the alligator recently.

Sheriff’s Department officials said this is the second fatal alligator attack in Beaufort County in the past year. An 88-year-old Sun City woman was attacked by an alligator at a lagoon near her home in August.