CHICAGO (CBS) — A woman was killed by an 8-foot reticulated python on Wednesday, at a northwest Indiana home filled with 140 snakes.
Indiana State Police said 36-year-old Laura Hurst was found with the python wrapped around her neck Wednesday night at a home in Oxford, about two hours southeast of Chicago. Police were responding to a 911 call about an unresponsive woman when they found her.
Paramedics tried to revive Hurst, but were unsuccessful.
An autopsy on Friday determined she died of asphyxiation due to strangulation by a snake, police said. The Benton County Cororner’s office was still waiting for the results of toxicology tests, which could take four to six weeks.
Police said there were 140 snakes in the home, about 20 of them belonging to Hurst, who visited the home about twice a week before she died.
The home was registered to the Benton County, Indiana Sheriff, so no one lives there. It is actually set up to house snakes.
The reticulated python, native to Southeast Asia, is considered the longest snake in the world and can weigh in at 350 pounds.