A 36-year-old Indiana woman who kept snakes in her house was found dead with an eight-foot-long python around her neck.
Laura Hurst was found unresponsive Wednesday night on the floor of her home in the northern Indiana town of Oxford, with the snake wrapped loosely around her neck, said Indiana State Police Sgt. Kim Riley as quoted by Aljazeera.
Police say that they found 140 snakes at the home owned by Sheriff Donald Munson, a senior police officer who lives next door.
He described the incident as tragic saying that he would be cooperating with the police to get to the bottom of the matter.
No one lived in the house that was modified for the specific purpose of keeping snakes, about 20 snakes belonged to the deceased.
Sergeant Kim Riley of the Indiana State police said that the deceased had gone to check on the snakes when she died. An autopsy will be done to give an official cause of death.
“She appears to have been strangled by the snake but we have to wait for the autopsy report,” Said Riley said.
The reticulated python found on Hurst’s snake is said to be the longest in the world and is said to have its natural habitat in Southeast Asia. They thrive in tropical areas near the water.
According to National Geographic, there are very few incidences of a python attacking human beings and most of them are as a result of mishandling them as pets.
