Reptile & Amphibian Forums

KMTV (Omaha, Nebraska) 10 June 10 Pet Snake Kills Man in Papillion (Devon Patton)
Papillion, NE: A Papillion man died late Wednesday night, hours after his pet snake wrapped itself around his neck. Paramedics found 35-year-old Corey Burns at 635 South Washington Street in Papillion on Wednesday afternoon.
Papillion Police Lieutenant, Chris Whitted, tells Action 3 News that Burns was showing the six-foot python to a friend, when it attacked him.
"He began to choke and was unable to speak," says Whitted, "She tried to get the snake off him, but could not."
Burns had no signs of life when officers and medics arrived on the scene. The snake did not attack paramedics or officers as they removed it from Burns' neck. The python is currently in custody of the Nebraska Humane Society.
A member of the Humane Society says it's not clear why the snake attacked. Burns was on life support for at Midlands Hospital for hours, before passing away.
Pet Snake Kills Man in Papillion

Unless you are the stupidest moron on the planet a 6' snake should not be able to kill an adult human. All one has to do is unwrap it. If other folks were there what is wrong with that picture? I believe he may have been killed in other ways...thanks
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Probably more to the story, indeed. My first guess is that the snake wrapped around the man's neck, cutting off blood flow to the brain.

I've been ridiculed because of my position that snakes should not be draped around one's neck, so I'll be watching this story with interest.

Attack seems just a teeny bit hyperbolic.... Conjures up all sorts of absurd scenarios....

Was it dressed in black, a la ninja python? Carrying a knife? Laying in wait next to a booby trap?

Maybe it had a little leather jacket emblazoned with "Hell's Pythons" on the back, and a tattoo that says "Slytherin".

Heat's getting to me a little. Apologies.

LOL... this is the sort of reporting that people here are so upset about. Stick around... there's lots more to come.

Thanks. I can appreciate that one.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

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Link

StephF, LOL Nice to see you have a sense of humor. I did get a nice smile out of that one.

If I may add also you do notice that most people on here are saying that this most likely happened due to irresponsibility of the keeper and or others that were there.
I do hope the truth comes out as something really doesn't add up here with a grown man and a boa only 6ft long killing him with even one more person there.
But the news media may play the old snakes on the plain story out here again as much as they can.
People like drama and there is nothing more dramatic than something that scares them, like a large killer snake.
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Noah was the first snake collector. ~Eric~

OOOPS! Typo that should be plane not plain. LOL
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Noah was the first snake collector. ~Eric~

Excess foreign substance present in the bloodstream?

{Video link at URL below}
ACTION 3 NEWS (Omaha, Nebraska) 10 June 10 Killer Snake Legal in Papillion (Carrie Murphy)
Papillion, NE: The snake that killed it's owner Wednesday was a legal pet. Papillion Police Lt. Chris Whitted says city ordinance only prohibits poisonous snakes, and the eight-plus foot red-tailed boa constrictor that killed Corey Byrne is not poisonous.
Byrne died after the snake wrapped around his neck and choked him. When Papillion officers arrived, the snake had already retreated and wrapped itself around a tree. Byrne was not conscious.
Whitted says Byrne bought the snake four months ago at "Too Many Feathers", a La Vista pet store, which recently moved to Ralston. Under La Vista laws, it's illegal to own a boa constrictor but it's legal to sell it.
Thursday, one of the foremost experts on reptiles talks about the deadly accident in Papillion. "Normally they are considered not dangerous," says Jessi Krebs, the Henry Doorly Zoo curator. These snakes are not considered dangerous because the attacks are extremely rare. The last boa to kill someone in the United States, was thirty years ago. "It would have to have done something to earn that reputation. Lions are dangerous because they've killed people," says Krebs.
The Nebraska Humane Society will hold the snake until the police investigation is over. Spokesman Mark Langan says there are several options for the snake including sending it to a sanctuary or euthanizing it.
In Omaha, owning snakes is also legal unless the snake is over eight feet long. Langan says a surprising number of people keep pet snakes in their homes. He says it's too soon to know if Byrne's death could lead to a review of city laws on owning exotic animals.
Byrne leaves behind two children.
http://www.action3news.com/Global/story.asp?S=12628906

KETV (Omaha, Nebraska) 10 June 10 Humane Society: Boa Constrictor Attack Is Nation's 1st - 9-Foot Snake Kills Papillion Man
Omaha, Neb.: A Papillion man may be the first known person in the U.S. to have been killed by his pet boa constrictor, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
The 9-foot long, 25-pound snake wrapped itself around Cory Byrne's neck Wednesday evening as he showed it to friends. Byrne soon lost consciousness. Rescuers arrived to find him with no pulse. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
"When they strike, they're just going to coil around real fast," said Nebraska Humane Society's Sarah Reiderer.
She studies reptiles, and said the snakes will constrict until their prey is dead.
"It waits until it can't feel the heart beat anymore and then and that's when it will relax a little bit," Reiderer said.
Boa constrictors are legal in Nebraska. Omaha doesn’t allow any longer than 8 feet. Papillion hasn't set any rules.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working to keep potentially dangerous animals, like boa constrictors, contained.
"There's been both regulation and legislation proposed that would prohibit importing boa constrictors and prohibit the movement of these as pets across state lines," said a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson.
"Changing an ordinance would be for the elected city officials to decide, but this tragic incident would give us cause to revisit that ordinance," said Lt. Chris Whitted.
http://www.ketv.com/news/23861710/detail.html

{Video link at URL below}
WOWT (Omaha, Nebraska) 10 June 10 Stricter Snake Regulations?
A man is strangled and killed by his pet Boa Constrictor, but it's just the latest in a string of incidents involving snakes in the metro. Should there be stricter laws in the state to ensure everyone's safety?
The snake, which coiled around its owner's neck Wednesday night in Papillion, is a Red Tail Boa Constrictor.
It's the same kind of snake which was found in a pipe down by the new Veteran's Memorial Bridge earlier this week. Both snakes are being held at the Nebraska Humane Society until officials can find a sanctuary to take them to.
The nine-foot, 25-pound Boa Constrictor wrapped itself around its owner's neck and squeezed. The victim, 34-year-old Cory Byrne was rushed to the hospital, but was later pronounced dead.
Neighbors say he often carried around the snake on his shoulders, even sharing the experience with them. "He held half of it on his, and then he'd let us put it on our shoulder, yeah," said Kylie Driggers.
Experts say having this large of a snake near children is not a good idea, saying animals can change quickly. "You can trust them as much as you want to, but in a certain element, you just don't know how they're going to respond to different situations," said Vice President of Field Operations for the Humane Society, Mark Langan.
He says responsibility and proper handling is vital to owning a snake this large. "Never had a fatal snake attack that we can recall," he said. "Just a tragedy, no doubt about it, had to be horrendous for the victim, horrendous for the witness."
Langan says this incident will spur him to talk with law makers. "I'm sure that there's going to be some talk about strengthening the laws, across the state of Nebraska, not just in Papillion."
This is the second situation involving a Boa this week. Monday, the Humane Society was called out to help get a snake out of a pipe near the new Veteran's Memorial Bridge.
Many said at the time it was harmless. Even though this snake is a bit smaller, only six feet long, others still realized the potential danger. "That snake was big enough, it could probably take down a kid for sure," said Tom Dewitt.
Langan says he suspects the snake was a pet, got too big for its owner to care for, and was released into the wild.
Another incident was a snake found in a La Vista hotel in April. The Humane Society finally tracked down the owner, a man who lives in California and had lost his pet in the hotel more than a month earlier. The snake was returned to the man, and no citations were issued.
It is legal to own a snake with in Omaha and Papillion's city limits. Omaha does have a length restriction of eight-feet.
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/96091024.html

WORLD-HERALD (Omaha, Nebraska) 10 June 10 Deadly snake attack called rare (Kevin Cole and Andrew J. Nelson)
Large snakes like the one that fatally strangled a Papillion man Wednesday can be safely kept if proper precautions are taken.
Omahan Glen Eisel, vice president of the Nebraska Herpetological Society which studies reptiles and amphibians, said Cory Byrne's death surprised him.
“It was the first time that I ever heard of a boa (constrictor) doing that,” Eisel said Thursday.
Byrne, 34, was critically injured while showing his pet snake to a female friend in his apartment at 635 S. Washington St. The snake, estimated by authorities to be 9 feet long and weighing 25 pounds, wrapped around Byrne's neck and began strangling him.
Byrne's roommate unsuccessfully tried to pry the snake loose. Officers from the Papillion Police Department finally pulled the snake off Byrne and began CPR, but he died later at Midlands Community Hospital.
Papillion Police Lt. Chris Whitted said officers first identified the snake that killed Byrne as a python based on information provided by neighbors at the scene. Nebraska Humane Society officials later identified the snake as a red-tailed boa constrictor.
Mark Langan, vice president of field operations for the humane society, said the snake appeared to be well cared for. It is being held by the humane society until Papillion concludes its investigation.
Eisel said herpetological societies often publish guidelines for handling amphibians and reptiles. One of the guidelines is to never put a snake around your neck.
“We don't condone wrapping a snake around your neck ever,” Eisel said. “The guidelines also say if you take a snake outside, it should be kept in an enclosure.”
Jessi Krebs, curator of reptiles and amphibians for the Henry Doorly Zoo, said it would be extremely rare for a boa constrictor to attack its owner.
“That type of behavior is more typical of a Burmese python,” Krebs said.
He speculated that the snake may have felt vulnerable as Byrne handled the animal. “Snakes like to feel anchored and safe,” he said. “It could have utilized its tail to try to secure its position around his neck.”
Neighbors told police that Byrne often took the snake outside to show children. Earlier this spring, Byrne brought his snake over to his next-door neighbor's home.
He placed it on the trampoline outside. He let the children play with it.
“My daughter actually had it around her neck,” said David Driggers, 44, the neighbor. “There were about five or six kids over here that day.”
Whitted said he personally witnessed Byrne walking around Papillion with the snake across his shoulders.
A Papillion ordinance prohibits residents from keeping dangerous wild animals, including snakes, but Whitted said he didn't believe the snake fit that description.
“I know that there are a lot of snakes sold legally, and I really never thought anything of it,” Whitted said. “If it were a cobra or rattlesnake that would have been a problem.”
In Omaha, it is illegal to keep a snake that's more than 8 feet long. Papillion has no length limit for snakes.
Langan approves of the Omaha ordinance.
“Snakes over 8 feet long can easily get too big to handle,” Langan said. “Tragically, that's what might have happened in this case.”
Byrne worked for a local McDonald's restaurant, his landlord and neighbors said.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20100609/NEWS01/100609654/0

First the snake was a 6 foot long Python, then it became an 8 foot long Boa, then it became a 9 foot long Boa.

In one story, "The snake did not attack paramedics or officers as they removed it from Burns' neck." And, in another story, "When Papillion officers arrived, the snake had already retreated and wrapped itself around a tree."

I guess in Journalism, if the story involves a snake, the facts don't matter.

LOL that snake grew FAST!

you said it.

That guy was a TOOL! I'm all for removing TOOLS from the genre! One way or another.
His case was self-removal, the hard way.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

>>That guy was a TOOL! I'm all for removing TOOLS from the genre! One way or another.
>>His case was self-removal, the hard way.
>>jsc
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>>"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
>>John Crickmer

I don't know, maybe we shouldn't rush to judgement. Story sounds fishy to me. Given the way the Florida case of the 2 year old's death was handled, maybe framing a snake is a good way to cover up a murder or accidental death by some other means. Not saying that's what happened, but there's got to be more to this story than "the snake attacked" the guy.

KMTV (Omaha, Nebraska) 11 June 10 Sister Of Man Killed By Snake Speaks Out (Devon Patton)
Papillion, NE: The 9 foot, 25 pound boa constrictor that squeezed the life out of 35-year-old Cory Byrne also changed the lives of his family. Cory's sister Kayla spoke to him in the hospital just before he died. "Still feels like a bad dream," says Cory Byrne. She told him he needs to watch over his 3 kids, she promised that she would watch them too and then told Cory, she loved him.
Kayla tells Action 3 News Cory was just with her at their parents house on Sunday. He showed them where his snake bit him on the arm. The family told Cory they didn't want that snake around him anymore. "Just told him to get rid of the darn thing," said Kayla Byrne.
Friends and co-workers of Cory are also feeling the pain of loss. Debby Clark not only lived next door to him, but also worked with Cory at a local McDonalds and says they were friends. The news of his death hit her hard. "I couldn't even sleep. Just trying to get the picture out of my head of what actually happened," said Clark.
Kayla described what happened to her brother when the snake wrapped itself around his neck. She tells Action 3 News, Wednesday night he was showing the snake to a friend in his downtown apartment when it hissed. He quickly tried to take it off his shoulders to put it back in the cage and that's when it got scared and naturally reacted by wrapping itself around Cory's neck.
Sister Of Man Killed By Snake Speaks Out

In the hospital no less. Maybe I'm missing something here, was this guy choked to death by a snake or did he die of pancreatic cancer or something.
His dying words were "please ,take care of my children". That sounds more like the plot line for some lifetime movie network film than an actual snake related death. This adds up even less than the kid in sumter county fl.

Admittedly there are conflicting versions of the story. I admit I rushed to a rather harsh judgment of the fellow. From what I gather from accounts of his behavior prior to and immediately preceding the incident, the guy had no business owning that snake. He is a poster child for the opposition. Responsible and knowledgeable keepers are getting screwed by people that behave in that manner.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Must have been telepathy.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

On a serious note, from the press reports, the guy doesn't sound like someone that's 100% equipped for the challenges of today's world. Was he challenged in some way? Were drugs or alcohol involved? Hopefully these questions will be answered.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

A 35 year old male McDonald's employee?

"Look Mom. Look where my snake bit me." Reminds me of the Pizza delivery guy that got blown up in the bank robbery attempt. That was truly sad.
Anyway, had a guy step in front of a train and a woman walk out into traffic in the past two days here. Happens all the time. Some people just have issues.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

...why does it matter were he worked?...
...this whole elitist nonsense needs to stop...
...you dont know this man and yet you talk so much trash about him...God forbid this ever happens to any of you thats all im saying...

"God forbid this ever happens to any of you thats all im saying..."

I would much rather be attacked and killed (and hopefully eaten.....saves on burIal expenses.) by an animal someday than have my brain turn to jello and spend my final days having someone change my diapers. Granted getting choked to death by a Boa constrictor is pretty stupid way to go, I'd take it over alot of other options for cashing out.

You need to chill out. It was a DUMB thing to do.