Kagome100
03-15-2005, 05:29 PM
'Snake bite' man bought reptiles
A man who US police believe may have died after being bitten by deadly snakes had bought a box of lethal reptiles on the internet.
Computer programmer Garrick Wales, 48, from Kilmacolm, Inverclyde, Scotland, was found dead on 13 May in a car near Little Rock National Airport, Arkansas.
A box containing four African snakes was found just over half a mile away by an electrician the next day.
Police have ruled out homicide and are waiting for toxicology test results.
Detective Eric Knowles of Little Rock Police said Mr Wales had brought the snakes from a reptile dealership in Florida which had transported them to Arkansas.
Mr Wales had taken delivery of other snakes on previous visits to the US, he added.
But police knew little about what Mr Wales had intended to do with the snakes or how he had disposed of the earlier batch.
"Whether he had a snake fetish, we just simply don't know," he said.
"We can say that this is definitely not a homicide. There is definitely no foul play as far as someone else contributing to his death.
"All other possibilities remain open to us."
The four African snakes, which were in bags inside a box, were found by Jim Scarborough, of IK Electric, near a motorway.
He said: "To me it's kind of odd that nobody will say who picked them up.
"If they know who picked them up at the airport I think that would probably solve a lot of it."
The 14in twig snake, 6ft green mamba, 4ft black mamba and 5ft forest cobra could all be deadly.
The wooden box was marked with warnings of its contents.
The snakes were taken to a local zoo, where staff said police had told them they were investigating a link between the reptiles and an unusual death.
Fast-moving snake
The black mamba feeds on small mammals and birds, which it strikes and then stalks until paralysis kicks in.
It can grow to up to 14ft in length and travel at speeds of almost 12mph.
The green mamba is another fast-moving snake, which grows to about 5ft in length.
The forest cobra is a large, thick-bodied, black snake from the rain forests Africa.
Its bite can cause early paralysis and breathing failure, and can kill without quick intervention.
The twig snake comes from the family of venomous rear-fanged snakes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3739473.stm
A man who US police believe may have died after being bitten by deadly snakes had bought a box of lethal reptiles on the internet.
Computer programmer Garrick Wales, 48, from Kilmacolm, Inverclyde, Scotland, was found dead on 13 May in a car near Little Rock National Airport, Arkansas.
A box containing four African snakes was found just over half a mile away by an electrician the next day.
Police have ruled out homicide and are waiting for toxicology test results.
Detective Eric Knowles of Little Rock Police said Mr Wales had brought the snakes from a reptile dealership in Florida which had transported them to Arkansas.
Mr Wales had taken delivery of other snakes on previous visits to the US, he added.
But police knew little about what Mr Wales had intended to do with the snakes or how he had disposed of the earlier batch.
"Whether he had a snake fetish, we just simply don't know," he said.
"We can say that this is definitely not a homicide. There is definitely no foul play as far as someone else contributing to his death.
"All other possibilities remain open to us."
The four African snakes, which were in bags inside a box, were found by Jim Scarborough, of IK Electric, near a motorway.
He said: "To me it's kind of odd that nobody will say who picked them up.
"If they know who picked them up at the airport I think that would probably solve a lot of it."
The 14in twig snake, 6ft green mamba, 4ft black mamba and 5ft forest cobra could all be deadly.
The wooden box was marked with warnings of its contents.
The snakes were taken to a local zoo, where staff said police had told them they were investigating a link between the reptiles and an unusual death.
Fast-moving snake
The black mamba feeds on small mammals and birds, which it strikes and then stalks until paralysis kicks in.
It can grow to up to 14ft in length and travel at speeds of almost 12mph.
The green mamba is another fast-moving snake, which grows to about 5ft in length.
The forest cobra is a large, thick-bodied, black snake from the rain forests Africa.
Its bite can cause early paralysis and breathing failure, and can kill without quick intervention.
The twig snake comes from the family of venomous rear-fanged snakes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3739473.stm