Kagome100
03-21-2005, 05:58 PM
Alligator Blamed in Girl's Death
T A M P A, Fla., June 25 An autopsy has confirmed that an alligator was responsible for the death of a 2-year-old Florida girl over the weekend.
Alexandria Murphy had been playing in the back yard of her family's Winter Park home, which is on the shores of Lake Cannon, on Saturday afternoon, police say. Her mother and grandmother were inside the house at the time.
The little girl then wandered off — apparently into the jaws of one of the state's most vicious predators.
Medical examiner Dr. Stephen Nelson said the girl drowned when she was dragged under the water. The little girl was alive when the reptile broke both of her arms and dislocated her shoulder.
Officials suspect residents living near the lake had been feeding the gator, causing it to lose its fear of humans.
Bite Marks on Arms and Thigh
Her body was found by a Polk County Sheriff's Office deputy near the shore less than an hour after her family reported her missing. The alligator was lying next to it.
The girl had bite marks on her arms and right thigh consistent with those caused by an alligator, officials said. Police had been uncertain about whether she drowned first, and was then attacked, or if the alligator dragged her into the water.
"There should have been a fence around that lake," her aunt, Marsha Clark, told ABCNEWS. "I mean, it's a family area."
The 6-foot-long alligator was killed later in the day. ABCNEWS' Robert Pankau in Tampa contributed to this report.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93015&page=1
T A M P A, Fla., June 25 An autopsy has confirmed that an alligator was responsible for the death of a 2-year-old Florida girl over the weekend.
Alexandria Murphy had been playing in the back yard of her family's Winter Park home, which is on the shores of Lake Cannon, on Saturday afternoon, police say. Her mother and grandmother were inside the house at the time.
The little girl then wandered off — apparently into the jaws of one of the state's most vicious predators.
Medical examiner Dr. Stephen Nelson said the girl drowned when she was dragged under the water. The little girl was alive when the reptile broke both of her arms and dislocated her shoulder.
Officials suspect residents living near the lake had been feeding the gator, causing it to lose its fear of humans.
Bite Marks on Arms and Thigh
Her body was found by a Polk County Sheriff's Office deputy near the shore less than an hour after her family reported her missing. The alligator was lying next to it.
The girl had bite marks on her arms and right thigh consistent with those caused by an alligator, officials said. Police had been uncertain about whether she drowned first, and was then attacked, or if the alligator dragged her into the water.
"There should have been a fence around that lake," her aunt, Marsha Clark, told ABCNEWS. "I mean, it's a family area."
The 6-foot-long alligator was killed later in the day. ABCNEWS' Robert Pankau in Tampa contributed to this report.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93015&page=1