A 49-year-old man who was found dead inside his Charles County, Maryland, residence Wednesday was surrounded by 124 venomous and non-venomous snakes, according to investigators.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Department said first responders were called to a home in the 5500 block of Raphael Drive in Pomfret once they were notified by a neighbor the resident of the house was unconscious on the floor, WUSA 9 reported Thursday.
The neighbor said he went to the home to check on the individual because he had not seen him in over a day.
After EMS crews arrived and forced entrance into the front door, they pronounced the man deceased.
Death Investigation on Raphael Drive: On January 19 at 6 p.m., officers responded to a single-family home in the 5500…
Posted by Charles County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, January 20, 2022
First responders notified animal control officials when they saw dozens of snakes inside the house, lying in tanks on racks.
Jennifer Harris, who is a spokesperson for Charles County Animal Control, said the team “tagged and bagged” over 100 snakes that were venomous and non-venomous.
Video footage showed officials taking some of the reptiles out of the house:
Harris noted neighbors did not know he had snakes inside the home, adding the man appeared to have lived by himself.
“I do want to assure the community, [and] anybody living in this neighborhood, we have not seen that any of the snakes were not properly secured or could have escaped,” she continued.
“I know people were worried that there could be some danger to people living nearby, but at this point, we have not uncovered or determined that any of the snakes actually were not secured after this gentleman’s death,” she explained.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office said detectives were investigating the death of the man.
“There were no obvious signs of foul play and the decedent was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy,” the agency stated.
The Charles County Chief of Animal Control says in his 30 years of doing this, he’s never seen anything like it. The snakes were very meticulously kept, you can tell he knew what he was doing < the county said. @7NewsDC https://t.co/0Osh6kjgKf pic.twitter.com/sUwT1wRxQa
— Caroline Patrickis (@Cpatrickis) January 20, 2022
Animal control requested help from reptile experts in Virginia and North Carolina. On Thursday, workers were still bagging the snakes.
The agency noted a 14-foot Burmese python was the largest one in the house.
“I think it’s definitely scary for people to hear about how many snakes there are and what kind,” Doria Fleisher, a neighbor and Charles County community engagement coordinator, told Fox 5:
“I also think that there’s relief in knowing that now that animal control is involved, experts are here, the situation is under control and the scene is contained, neighbors feel safe, they’re just grieving,” she added.
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