Florida Wildlife Officials Kill Large Alligator Spotted With Woman’s Body in Its Mouth

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has identified the body of a woman spotted in the mouth of a large alligator in a Largo, Florida, body of water.

According to 10 Tampa Bay, the body belongs to 41-year-old Sabrina Peckham.

After receiving a report of a body in the water on Friday, September 22, 2023, deputies arrived at the location and retrieved the body, and officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission killed and removed a 13-foot, 8.5-inch alligator from the waterway.

"[The gator] lifted up out of the water with the body, and it was just clamped onto it," a neighbor who alerted authorities told 10 Tampa Bay. "And then it just swam backward under to like the bottom canal under me and it went on the other side.

"I just couldn't believe it was real."

In a Facebook post, Breauna Dorris, who identified herself as Peckham’s daughter, wrote, "My mother, Sabrina Peckham, was the victim of the alligator attack at McCay Creek [rainbow village]. Please understand that we do not have all information yet as the medical examiners report is not yet finished. Some details I would like to share is that my mother did not ‘taunt’ the alligator as some are saying in the news outlets comments. My mother was apart of the homeless population that lived in the nearby wooded area. It is believed that she may have been walking to or from her camp site near the creek in the dark and the alligator attacked from the water. Please do not speak on what you don’t know. No matter how you put it, no one deserves to die like this.”

The investigation is ongoing.