EDMONTON JOURNAL (Alberta) 08 November 06 Bitten woman dies after serpent-handling
London, Kentucky: A woman died after being bitten by a snake during a serpent-handling service at church, police said.
Linda Long, 48, of London, Ky, died Sunday at University of Kentucky Medical Center, said Brad Mitchell, a detective with the Laurel County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
Long died about four hours after the bite was reported, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Officials said Long attended East London Holiness Church. Neighbours of the church told the newspaper the church practices serpent handling.
Snake handling is based on a passage in the Bible from the Gospel of Mark that says a sign of a true believer is the power to "take up serpents" without being harmed.
Handling reptiles as part of religious services is illegal in Kentucky. Snake handling is a misdemeanour and punishable by a $50 to $100 US fine. Police said they had not received reports about snake handling at the church.
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=53fa5b95-298c-4d4e-853d-ea11b75df4ff
