Python strangled woman found dead in sheriff’s ‘reptile home,’ Indiana coroner says

An autopsy Friday confirmed that a woman found dead with an 8-foot python wrapped around her snake was strangled by the snake, Indiana officials say.

The 36-year-old Battle Ground, Indiana woman was found dead with the giant snake wrapped around her neck Wednesday night, the Journal & Courier reported. The building that houses a collection of 140 snakes is owned by Benton County Sheriff Don Munson, the newspaper reported.

An Indiana State Police spokesman described the building as a “reptile home,” WLFI reported. The building is near the sheriff’s home, the Lafayette, Indiana TV station reported.

It appears she was “killed by a reptile,” the spokesman told WLFI.

The woman owned about 20 of the snakes in the home, WTHR reported.

She was identified as Laura Hurst, according to the Indiana State Police. She visited the home about two times per week, police said.

“For whatever reason, she apparently got the snake out and she was doing what people do with snakes,” Indiana State Police spokesman Sgt. Kim Riley told CNN.

On Friday, Indiana State Police released autopsy findings by the Benton County Coroner’s Office, which confirmed that Hurst died of “asphyxiation due to strangulation by a snake.”

Munson found Hurst in the home, WLFI reported. He called the death a “tragic accident with loss of human life” and said he was cooperating with the investigation, according to the Journal & Courier.

This story was originally published October 31, 2019 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Python strangled woman found dead in sheriff’s ‘reptile home,’ Indiana coroner says."