OLDSMAR, Fla. – Trappers caught an 8 1/2-foot alligator they believe attacked a 43-year-old woman whose body was found in a Pinellas County canal.
Officials said some of Judy Cooper's body parts were found inside the gator's stomach when it was trapped Monday night near where she was found. The attack was at least partially responsible for her death, officials said.
The Dunedin woman's body was found Sunday. Authorities say she had been in the water for about three days and had suffered injuries consistent with an alligator attack, but a medical examiner's final report won't be released for at least four weeks.
Cooper's death was one of three attributed to alligator attacks in the span of a week.
Government researchers estimate there are between 1 million and 2 million alligators in Florida, but there have only been 351 recorded attacks on humans in the past 58 years.
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