Posted by:
W von Papineäu
at Wed Sep 6 06:22:34 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by W von Papineäu ]
CNN (Atlanta, Georgia) 05 September 06 14-foot pet snake kills owner
Lanesville, Indiana (AP) -- A 14-foot pet python crushed its owner to death, authorities said Tuesday after finding the snake loose in a southern Indiana shed with the man's body.
Patrick Von Allmen, 23, was found Monday evening in the shed near Lanesville, about 15 miles west of Louisville, Kentucky.
A medical examiner determined that the death was consistent with asphyxiation caused by compression of the neck and chest, Conservation Officer Mark Farmer said.
"When you're dealing with a wild animal species, you take on a certain amount of risk," he said.
Von Allmen had told family members he was going to treat the snake for a medical condition, Farmer said. He was alone in the shed with the python for about three hours before his body was found.
Relatives said Von Allmen had 10 to 12 years of experience handling reptiles, according to authorities. The family got the snake as a pet five months ago, Farmer said.
Indiana law does not restrict ownership of snakes, and the python was returned to the family.
http://www.wane.com/Global/story.asp?S=5366527&nav=0RYb
FORT WAYNE NEWS SENTINEL (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 05 September 06 Man caring for python found dead in southern Indiana
Lanesville, Ind. (AP): A 23-year-old man who was caring for a 14-foot snake in southern Indiana was found dead Monday night.
Officials did not know how the man died and would not speculate. The body of the man, identified as Patrick Von Allmen, was to go to the Kentucky medical examiner's office in Louisville for an autopsy Tuesday.
Mark Farmer, an Indiana Department of Natural Resources spokesman, said Von Allmen was found in a shed in Lanesville and that the 14-foot reticulated python was found loose in the shed.
The snake was captured and returned to the man's family.
Indiana law doesn't restrict ownership of pythons because they are non-venemous. They kill their prey by squeezing it.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/15442869.htm
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