- Sabrina Peckham, 41, was eaten by an alligator after being dragged into a canal by the 13-foot beast
- Her daughter Breauna Dorris announced the news of her mother’s passing on social media
- Dorris has also now revealed that she prayed it wasn’t her mom after discovering she lived just 50 feet away from the scene in a homeless camp
The daughter of a homeless Florida woman who was eaten by a 13ft alligator has revealed the moment she found out she was dead, after praying it wasn’t her.
Sabrina Peckham, 41, was found in the jaws of an alligator after she was dragged by the 13-foot beast into a canal last Friday in Largo, Clearwater.
Several local residents spotted the gruesome sight as the alligator dragged Peckham away and began to record the scene while alerting the Largo Fire Department.
Her daughter, Breauna Dorris has now revealed that the moment she found out her mom had died, after ‘praying’ it wasn’t her.
Doris told Wesh2: ‘ ‘I think that she is just going to walk through the door any second, and then you remember. And then all of it comes back.
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Her daughter Breauna Dorris, pictured here, announced the news of her mother’s passing on social media
Several local residents spotted the gruesome sight of Peckham’s death on Friday afternoon
‘I’m sure my mother is just gleaming knowing that ever one person cared about her, let alone thousands.’
She continued: ‘Me knowing that she was staying 50 feet from where it happened, I prayed ‘I hope it’s not her, I hope it’s not her.
‘Later that evening law enforcement arrived at my door and pretty much told me that it was her and she was gone.
According to Dorris, her mom had been struggling with homelessness and described her as kind and selfless.
Dorris continued: ‘My mother was not cared about by many, but to know that in times like this were we need our community that people are coming out showing our support, donating, praying, sending kind words, it’s all that I could ask for.’
Emergency responders, together with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, managed to pull the alligator from the water before shooting it dead, with officials describing it as having been ‘humanely killed’ following the horrific attack
Dorris announced the sad news on her social media, writing: ‘ ‘The past 24 hours have been filled with grief and sorrow and unbearable pain for our family.
‘My mother, Sabrina Peckham was the victim of the alligator attack at McCay Creek (rainbow village).
The Florida alligator was found with a dead body clamped between its jaws as it made its way down a canal near Clearwater
Sabrina Peckham (left) pictured with her daughter Breauna Dorris. Peckham, 41, was found in the jaws of the alligator after being dragged by the 13-foot beast into a canal on Friday
‘Please understand that we do not have all information yet as the medical examiners report is not yet finished.
‘Some details I would like to share is that my mother did not ‘taunt’ the alligator as some are saying in the news outlets comments.
‘My mother was a part of the homeless population that lived in the nearby wooded area.
‘It is believed that she may have been walking to or from her camp site near the creek in the dark and the alligator attacked from the water.
‘We expected to have many many more years with her. Unfortunately god has called her home sooner than our hearts were ready.’
Dorris addressed her mother in a heartfelt statement: ‘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.’
The large reptile held its victim tightly between its powerful jaws as is paddled down the waterway, in the small town of Largo
Emergency responders, along with the Florida FWC successfully removed the alligator from the water and subsequently euthanized it
Sabrina Peckham was named as the homeless Florida woman mauled to death and dragged into a waterway by a huge alligator in Largo, Clearwater
Jennifer Dean, who lived nearby to where the woman was killed, said: ‘A lot of my neighbors were out here and they’re the ones that told me about the gator.
‘While we were standing here we heard a shot, I assume they killed the gator.’
Once the alligator was dead, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office were then able to retrieve the victim’s body from the water.
‘I could tell there was a body in his mouth, so I started recording,’ JaMarcus Bullard said to Bay News 9.
‘I came down to the fire department and reported it to them,’ he said.
Investigators also took time to examine the gator, which measured 13 feet in length.
It’s believed the deadly reptile had come from a nearby alligator-infested lake known as Ridgecrest Park.
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