The daughter of the woman whose body was found in the jaws of an alligator has spoken out about the loss of her mom.
On Friday, Sabrina Peckham was discovered deceased and trapped in the body of a 13-foot male alligator who had attacked her and dragged her to a nearby body of water along a residential street in Largo, Florida.
A police report published by Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office stated that on September 22 at approximately 1:50PM local authorities responded to the area of 134th Avenue North and 121st Street North in Unincorporated Largo, following a report of a body seen in the waterway.
A local witness, Jamarcus Bullard, told reporters that he was walking to a job interview when he spotted the vicious animal with what initially looked like a mannequin in its mouth.
"I noticed it had a body in its mouth - like a lower torso - so once I saw that I ran straight to the fire department," he said, as reported by BBC News. "It was my first time seeing a gator in real life so I was like it's pretty cool, but once I saw what it had I was like 'Is that like a mannequin?'"
"It was pale and white," he continued, telling a different outlet that the beast was "just clamped onto it, and swam backward to the bottom of the canal... I just couldn't believe it was real".
It was then reported that he threw a rock at the alligator and watched it drag Peckham's body under water.
After the report was made, police finally found across the predator, and along with the assistance of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, they removed it from the area and "humanely killed" it.
Deputies assigned to the case discovered human remains inside the alligator which were later confirmed to be that of Peckham's.
According to The New York Post, court records showed that Peckham, who was reportedly homeless, was caught by authorities around 6:30AM on July 14 for trespassing on a county wetland - just half a mile from where she was later found dead.
It is still not clear whether Peckham had died before the animal found her or if it had killed her.
In the wake of the tragedy Breauna Dorris, the daughter of Peckham, has spoken out about the loss of her mom.
Taking to Facebook, the heartbroken teenager posted a tribute to her late mother in which she debunked the rumors around it while also describing the pain of the incident as "unbearable."
"Hi all," she started. "The past 24 hours have been filled with grief and sorrow and unbearable pain for our family. I’m posting this to put rumors to rest and ask for everyone’s help."
The teen then stated that she had set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes that it will help the family pay to put Peckham to rest.
"We will be using the funds raised from the gofund me to put my mother to rest in our family plot," she wrote in the post. "My mother only being 41, we had not expected to do this anytime soon. We expected to have many many more years with her. Unfortunately god has called her home sooner than our hearts were ready."
Dorris then went on to address her late mother directly, writing: "To my mother: I love you more than I ever expressed, I miss you more than you’ll ever know and I pray that you are looking down over me and your grandchildren. Please protect us. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I pray you are at peace and you are no longer struggling or hurting. I pray you found momo and pop and you all are watching down from above."
She concluded: "I am doing my best to get back to everyone that has reached out and or given their condolences. I appreciate each and everyone of you. Our family needs you now more than ever. If you have any questions, please message me and I will try and get back to you as soon as possible."
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this incredibly difficult time.
