Welp! This ain't good! Python found wrapped around dead woman neck in house w/ 140 sn

[Ax01]

seems like a breeder from the description. does anyone in the community know her? RIP. the death is unfortunate and i think something like this is gonna blowup and will be sensationalized by the media in 3... 2... 1.

story here: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/...ck/4111159002/

Python found coiled around dead woman's neck in northern Indiana home with 140 snakes

An 8-foot python was coiled around the neck of a dead woman inside a home filled with 140 snakes in Oxford, Indiana, police said.

The home is owned by Benton County Sheriff Donald E. Munson, property records show. IndyStar left a message for Munson with Benton County dispatchers on Thursday.

Benton County Sheriff's Department officers found the 36-year-old woman's body in a snake-filled home in the 600 North Dan Patch Drive shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday, Indiana State Police Sgt. Kim Riley said. The community is located bout 25 miles northwest of Lafayette.

An 8-foot long reticulated python was loosely coiled around her neck, Riley said. Medics tried unsuccessfully to revive the woman.

Riley said the snake may have caused the woman's death, but on it was too soon to know for sure on Thursday.

An autopsy was expected to be performed Friday.

No one lives in the home, which Riley said is "made for the keeping of snakes."

and here: https://www.jconline.com/story/news/...ay/4111294002/

Python found around dead woman's neck in house of snakes owned by Benton Co. sheriff, police say

OXFORD, Ind. – A 36-year-old Battle Ground woman died Wednesday after she was found with an 8-foot snake wrapped around her neck in an Oxford house, owned by Benton County Sheriff Don Munson and set up specifically for a collection of snakes, Indiana State Police said.

The woman, who police had not named as of 12:45 p.m. Thursday, pending notification of her family, apparently kept snakes in the house in the 600 block of North Dan Patch Drive, Sgt. Kim Riley, an Indiana State Police spokesman, said.

Munson, who lives next door to the house, told the J&C Thursday afternoon that he found the woman in the blue ranch house with the snakes on Wednesday evening.

Riley said the woman was found on the floor at 8:51 p.m. Wednesday. Riley said the reticulated python was wrapped loosely around the woman’s neck. The person who found her was able to unwrap the python but was unable to revive her.

Riley said the cause of death would be determined during an autopsy, scheduled for Friday.

“She appears to have been strangled by the snake,” Riley said. “We do not know that for a fact until after the autopsy.”

Coroner Matt Rosenbarger referred all questions to Indiana State Police.

Munson told the J&C the woman’s death was a tragic situation. He said he was cooperating with ISP investigators.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office dispatch also referred calls to ISP.

Riley said the house contained 140 snakes.

Things were quiet Thursday afternoon at the house with the snakes. The house has no signage or references to what’s inside.

Riley said police were continuing their investigation Thursday.

and here: https://fox59.com/2019/10/31/indiana...ound-her-neck/

Indiana woman found dead with snake around her neck
OXFORD, Ind. — A woman was found dead with a snake around her neck in Benton County Wednesday night, police say.

Indiana State Police said Benton County Sheriff Don Munson found the woman inside the Oxford home, according to WLFI. It appeared the woman had been “killed by a reptile,” police said.

ISP described the building as a “reptile home” that had been specifically set up to house 140 snakes. According to the Journal & Courier, police found an eight-foot-long reticulated python around the woman’s neck. The newspaper also reported that Munson owns the home.

The victim was identified as Laura Hurst, 36, of Battle Ground. Police say would usually go to the location about twice per week.

Police said Hurst’s cause of death would be determined during an autopsy that’s been scheduled for Friday.

[richardhind1972]

That's really not a good advert for the community, that's for sure


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[ladywhipple02]

This is why there are guidelines for handling big snakes - anything 8 feet and over, she should've had a second person on hand. Because she didn't follow the rules, we'll all feel it. Maybe me especially as this is in my state

[bcr229]

Sad. Unfortunately it's all too easy to get complacent when you deal with these snakes every day.

[Bogertophis]

I remain skeptical until the autopsy confirms that "the snake did it". Not saying the snake could NOT have done this, but so could a human. Let's just say she was
having an affair with a married man (maybe even the one who owned the house?) & it was a convenient way to dispose of the "problem"- after all, who would doubt
it...a woman alone in a house filled with snakes probably even "deserved to be killed by one" in the eyes of many of the snake-hating and fearing-public. This really
COULD have been staged...I REALLY hope they have a good medical examiner. We don't need more anti-snake sentiment from stupid things like this.

Realistically, yes, she might have blown it...so do keep in mind the rules of safety when working with big snakes...& just "how big" is partly determined by your own
size, fitness, age, strength, and experience. It's never wrong to have a second person (or more) on hand when working with large constrictors.

[Toad37]

I'm only about an hour away from battle ground so this is big news where I'm at. I've already had about 5 people send me this link and I've explained to every single one of them that an animal that big should've had 2 people to handle it for safety reasons.

[ladywhipple02]

a woman alone in a house filled with snakes probably even "deserved to be killed by one" in the eyes of many of the snake-hating and fearing-public. This really
COULD have been staged...I REALLY hope they have a good medical examiner. We don't need more anti-snake sentiment from stupid things like this.

I hope they have a good examiner as well... my thought is that she had a heart attack or stroke or some other health issue, personally, but it will be interesting to find out. Unfortunately, since a woman keeling over from a heart attack isn't sensationalist news, all the public will ever hear about is the snake, and the real story will be buried on page 12 somewhere two weeks later.

[Ax01]

yes, we should wait for the autopsy. the other part that worries me is that she had 140 snakes and how the media and public will react to that fact. a breeder can easily have that many snakes and even a keeper w/ a few racks. she could easily look like a crazy person or hoarder to those outside the community. i can totally see it play it out on the news like how the authorities remove a large cache of guns from someone's house during a bust and then lay it all out for the cameras, except in this instance it would be snakes. then someone or some group would be like "you can't have big snakes" or "you can't have more than one snake!" or "why do u even need a snake?!"

[Bogertophis]

I hope they also have someone knowledgeable about snakes- I hope they look for bite marks or snake saliva that might indicate an accidental feeding bite. The fact
that they found the snake loosely wrapped around her suggests it's possible that this was staged -strangled by human, blamed on snake placed there figuring it might
stay a while to keep warm, & incriminating itself in the eyes of whoever found her. Someone knowing her habits (working there alone) who also felt comfortable with
handling snakes like this really could have done this. (perhaps a partner that co-owned the snakes & wanted them all for themselves?) But a good examiner should be able to tell the difference, I think, between human & snake strangling.

An 8 foot snake is also heavy, so sure, it could also have been a completely unrelated health issue as ladywhipple02 suggested, like a stroke or heart attack, while she
was handling the snake. As it is, the headline is selling a lot of newspapers today. I dread the backlash.

[Craiga 01453]

Uggggh. That's a terribly sad story.

Hopefully medical examiners find the snake wasn't the cause of death. But either way, in the general public's eye, all they'll remember is seeing these stories and citing it for years to come if someone brings snakes up as a topic, even if the autopsy finds another cause of death.

Regardless of what the autopsy shows, I hope the snake community learns from this. Respect these animals and their capabilities. Be smart people, our hobby needs it.

The poor woman was only 36 years old, much too young to lose her Ife. My thoughts go out to her and her loved ones...