Man describes horror of discovering 'pale' woman inside 13ft alligator's jaws

25 September 2023 , 07:07

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A man on his way to a job interview spotted a woman's body in the mouth of a massive alligator but initially thought it was a mannequin.

Jamarcus Bullard was walking past a canal in Largo, Florida, when he made the grim discovery. The body was later identified by police and family as local grandma Sabrina Peckham, 41.

He said he was walking to a job interview when he saw the 13ft alligator lurking in the shallow waters with something in its massive jaws.

He told local broadcaster Fox 13: "It was my first time seeing a gator in real life so I was like it's pretty cool, but once I saw what it had I was like 'is that like a mannequin?' It was pale and white."

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Man describes horror of discovering 'pale' woman inside 13ft alligator's jaws

The alligator was 'humanely killed', authorities said

He had spotted the lower torso of Ms Peckham. In a later interview with 10 Tampa Bay he said: "It was just clamped onto it, and swam backwards to the bottom of the canal... I just couldn't believe it was real."

Ms Peckham's heartbroken daughter Breauna Dorris said her mum had living among a "homeless population that lived in the nearby wooded area." A fundraiser has been set up to

She also slammed suggestions that her mum had taunted the massive alligator before she was killed.

Jamarcus Bullard said he made the horrific discovery on Friday afternoon (WFLA)

She wrote on : "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."

She added: "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."

Sabrina Peckham lived in a nearby homeless encampment (Facebook)

Authorities say the alligator was humanely killed and removed from the canal. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot after police arrived. A police dive team had to go into the water to recover the remains on Ms Peckham.

Footage taken at the scene show a huge alligator sprawled by the road and surrounded by police. The Medical Examiner's Office has not yet determined the cause of death.

The grim canal where the alligator and Ms Peckham's remains were found (WFLA)

Residents were shocked by the grandma's death. Mr Bullard said: "I'm going to get me a bike or start catching the bus to work. They have small little gates, but somebody died."

Another neighbour, Jennifer Dead, said: “This was the first big one that I’ve seen around here. We heard all the sirens and came out to see what was going on.”

Ms Peckham had previously been arrested for trespassing on a country wetland. The report gave an address nearby where her remains were found.