Pennsylvania Man Who Was Strangled by 18-Foot Boa Constrictor Has Died, Coroner Says
A Pennsylvania man is dead after being strangled by an 18-foot boa constrictor last week.
Elliot Senseman, 27, died on Sunday at 8:11 a.m. local time while being treated at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio says in a statement sent to PEOPLE.
Senseman's cause of death is anoxic brain injury due to asphyxiation by constriction, according to the statement, which says that his death is being ruled an accident.
"A Boa Constrictor type snake approximately 18' in length constricted around the neck of Mr. Senseman, thus causing the anoxic brain injury (complete lack of oxygen to the brain)," the statement says.
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"My son was unique and kind and should still be with his family and friends," Senseman's mother, Heather, told Lehigh Valley Live of Senseman, who often rescued snakes.
She added that Senseman "was still working with" the boa constrictor "because it was so aggressive couldn't be placed yet."
"He was experienced and would never handle that snake alone," Heather said of her son. "He was only checking the enclosure and all appropriate measures were taken. Too many people get these snakes and can't handle or take care of them. They shouldn't be bred to be kept as pets. He wanted them to be in a habitat that was as close to their natural environments as possible since they couldn't be put in the wild."
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A family member told The Daily Beast that Senseman began working with snakes when he was 10 and had experience handling them. He's been rescuing snakes for the last six years and was passionate about finding them a new home, the outlet reported.
"A lot of times the snakes were neglected or mistreated and needed medical care," the relative told the outlet. "He would provide all of that."
Along with the boa constrictor that killed him, Senseman had two other snakes that he had taken in at the time. In his previous home, the boa was abused and malnourished, per The Daily Beast.
"This particular snake was aggressive, and that was one of the issues," the family member told the outlet. "With the way that this snake attacked him and how aggressive it became, it wasn't reacting normally."
Last week, Upper Macungie Township police officers responded to a call in Fogelsville about a person in cardiac arrest on Wednesday. The officers discovered a man lying on the floor with a snake tightly wrapped around his neck.
Officers shot and killed the "very large" snake to save him.
Lt. Peter Nickischer of the Upper Macungie Township Police Department told PEOPLE one of the man's family members called dispatch. Lehigh Valley Live reports that it was Senseman's grandmother who found him.
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When officers arrived, he was unconscious and in cardiac arrest.
The ordeal was described in a report filed by Upper Macungie Township Police Department, stating that when patrol officers arrived on the scene, they observed that he was "unresponsive and lying on the floor of the home with the mid portion of a large snake wrapped around the male's neck."
"Due to the massive size of the reptile (estimated to be 15+ feet), one of the officers was able to shoot the snake in the head without risking further injury to the male. Once the snake was injured from the gunshot, the officers were able to pull the male to safety," the report continued.
