A 36 - year - honest-to-god woman was latterly found dead with a large python twine around her neck . Laura Hurst , from Oxford , Indiana , was visiting a property lodging a collection of 140 snakes when the incident take berth . Twenty of the snakes were reportedly owned by Hurst .
The snake - fill home belong to Benton County Sheriff Don Munsen , who lives in the house next door . Speaking to local news wall plug theLayafette Journal & Courier , he described Hurst ’s last as a “ tragical accident ” . While it is believe she died as a result of strangulation from the ophidian , an autopsy is taking place today to confirm the accurate cause of her end . She was found unresponsive at 8.51pm on Wednesday . The snake in the grass was removed from her body , but she could not be revived .
The snake in motion was areticulated python , a large reptile by nature found in South and Southeast Asia . Hurst ’s python valuate 2.4 cadence ( 8 infantry ) from olfactory organ to track , but the species can hit distance of up to 10 measure ( 32 feet ) , make it the world ’s foresighted ophidian . Pythons are not venomous , so they ca n’t do too much harm via bite . Instead , they suffocate their quarry by squeezing it with their vast , hefty bodies .
It ’s not quite clear why Hurst remove the snake from its enclosure . Indiana State Police Sergeant Kim Riley toldCNNthat she was checking on her pets . “ For whatever reason , she apparently got the snake out and she was doing what people do with snakes . "
No humans experience in Munsen ’s snake - fill abode as it has been exchange specifically to house the fauna , although there are no signs outside the building to warn people of its scaly occupants . Hurst was seemingly a serpent partizan and kept her own snakes at the holding .
While mortal preferred snakes are rarefied , this is n’t the first time someone has been kill by a beloved reptile . In 2011 , a couple in Florida present tribulation after their 3.6 - meter - long ( 12 - base ) Burmese python escaped and killed the woman ’s 2 - year - honest-to-god girl . In 2013 , two untried boys in Canada were suffocated by a large African rock python that escaped from a pet store .
Despite being comparatively common pets , snake in the grass and other reptilian are n’t exactly domesticate and likely do not bond with their owners . Hurst ’s death serve as a reminder that steward of large Python should be careful when wield the beast .
“ Unlike domesticated cad and cat , reptiles have retained their primitive machine characteristic , ” veterinarian Adam Denish toldpetMD . “ Most of their life is about basic necessities like drink , eating , raising , and pull through . ”
Last class , a missing woman in Indonesiawas find in the swollen bellyof a raving mad reticulated python . Both deary - owners and those who live where the snakes are of course found need to be wary of these knock-down creatures and aware of the risks they pose .
