Sabrina Peckham, Largo homeless woman who lived in encampment among the marshes ruled to have been killed and attacked by 14ft alligator.
Florida officials have determined that a 41 year old Largo woman found in the swollen belly of an alligator was the result of an animal attack and not foul play.
Sabrina Peckham it has now been ruled was eaten by the alligator after being dragged by the predator into a large canal in Clearwater in September.
Peckham was transient at the time and had been staying at an encampment close to where the alligator was located and killed.
New footage from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shows the aftermath of the deadly attack.
Video shows the huge gator surrounded by police moments after it was shot to death. Its stomach is visibly swollen with Peckham inside.
Police also released footage showing the moment the beast was gunned down.
‘Watch them, watch them,’ a voice is heard shouting before the trigger is pulled with a bang and a splash.
A passerby raised the alarm after spotting the reptile with what appeared to be a body in its mouth.
Soon afterwards several other local residents spotted the beast dragging its prey away with some even recording the scene.
Emergency responders, together with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, managed to pull the alligator from the water before shooting it dead, with officials describing it as having been ‘humanely killed’ following the attack.
Officers taped the animal’s mouth shut and used rope and chains to pluck in from the canal, FOX13 reported.
They had to slash the side of its belly in order to remove some of Peckham’s remains.
After her mother’s death, Peckham’s daughter came out to deny that her mom had been taunting the animal.
‘My mother was a part of the homeless population that lived in the nearby wooded area,’ Breauana Dorris wrote in a Facebook post at the time.
‘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.
‘We expected to have many many more years with her. Unfortunately god has called her home sooner than our hearts were ready.’
Two months before her death, Peckham was arrested on July 14 for trespassing on a county wetland just half a mile from where she was mauled, WFLA previously reported. She was ordered to pay $500 for that incident.
Peckham reportedly ignored warning signs placed around the area and pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge on September 8.
It was not the first time that she was apprehended for trespassing, as she has multiple misdemeanors to her name dating to 2014, records show. Peckham also had a history of theft and drug convictions and run-ins with the police.
Wrote Peckham’s daughter, Breauna Dorris, on social media: ‘No matter how you put it, no one deserves to die like this.’
Read a GoFundMe the daughter posted at the time: ‘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 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 a part 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.
‘We expected to have many many more years with her. Unfortunately god has called her home sooner than our hearts were ready.’
It remained unclear if Dorris was in contact with her mother and how the parent came to live in the woods.
Also unclear is what provisions or resources, the homeless community living in the woods were offered, if anything.
It’s believed the deadly reptile had come from a nearby alligator-infested lake known as Ridgecrest Park. The gators routinely wander the neighborhood, according to neighbors, with the one killed on Friday was one of the biggest some had ever encountered.
While attacks are rare, alligator trapper Phil Walters said people should view this tragic attack as a warning.
‘Always be aware of your surroundings. Let that predator know, stare it down. That oftentimes will stop an attack,’ Walter told WFLA. ‘But if you’re triggering a wild animal, natural instincts by acting like its prey, well, you’re just inviting it.’
Pinellas County has since put up fencing and signs to keep people away from the canal.
