By Allen Kim and Rebekah Reiss | CNN
A woman was found dead with an 8-foot python snake wrapped around her neck, according to Indiana State Police.
The snake was a reticulated python, native to Southeast Asia and believed to be the longest snake in the world.
The Benton County dispatch in Oxford, Indiana received a 911 call Wednesday night after Laura Hurst, 36, was found unresponsive.
Doctors arrived and attempted to save his life, but were unsuccessful.
Police said there were 140 snakes on the property and about 20 of them belonged to Hurst. According to police, Hurst frequented the property “about twice a week.”
The home is owned by Benton County Sheriff Donald Munson, according to property records. Munson did not respond to CNN’s call Thursday afternoon.
Munson told the Lafayette Journal & Courier that Hurst’s death was a “tragic accident” and that he was “fully cooperating with everyone.”
Indiana State Police Sgt. Kim Riley told CNN that no one lives in the house and that it was remodeled and set up specifically for collecting snakes.
He said Hurst was “apparently there to watch his snakes. For some reason she apparently took the snake out and she was doing what people do with snakes.
Riley said the snake may have caused Hurst’s death and an autopsy will be performed on Friday to provide an official cause of death.
