Woman Killed By Alligator in South Carolina Wanted to Touch it and Take Pictures

The alligator was later shot and killed.
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Police said the woman's cause of death was drowning.

A South Carolina woman was killed by an alligator on Kiawah Island after she tried to pet and take photos of it, according to reports.

On Friday, a witness told authorities that Cynthia Covert, 58, arrived at her house, but she wasn’t “acting like herself,” according to WCBD. The witness added that Covert was more talkative and relaxed than usual and she’d shown up to the witness’ house with a glass of wine. 

Covert was doing her nails on the front porch of the witness' home when she spotted the alligator, according to police.

The witness and her husband reportedly warned Covert about going down to look at the alligator, which was inside a nearby pond. They also explained to Covert they’d seen the same reptile grab a deer from the same spot days earlier, WBCD reported. 

The woman said Covert said she didn’t “look like a deer” as she stood about "four feet from the edge" of the water before the alligator bit down on her leg and dragged her in, PEOPLE reported.

In a very calm voice as Covert was waist deep in the water, she said, “I guess I won’t do this again,” witnesses told police.

The witness and her husband tried to fend off the alligator with shovels, to no avail. They also threw out a rope to Covert, but the alligator then took her under and she dropped it. 

Later, when authorities found Covert’s body, she had “severe wounds to her leg.” Her cause of death was determined as drowning. The alligator was later shot dead by authorities. 

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