Man crushed to death by family's pet python

23-year-old found dead alone in shed with 14-foot snake

Slideshow

Animal Tracks
A dog in dreads, two finicky sea turtles, a chilled-out chimp and monkeys and meerkats with pumpkins – find all that and more photos of creatures great and small.

more photos

Pet health videos

Corwin fights to save endangered species
Nov. 6: TODAY’s Meredith Vieira talks to famed naturalist Jeff Corwin about his new MSNBC special, “Future Earth: 100 Heartbeats.”

Most pet microchips have outdated info

Hotel in Taiwan pampers pooches

Painting pooch is dog-gone good

Belly up to the scale in Japan

updated 5:18 p.m. ET Sept. 5, 2006

LANESVILLE, Ind. - A 14-foot pet python crushed its owner to death, authorities said Tuesday after finding the snake loose in a southern Indiana shed with the man’s body.

Patrick Von Allmen, 23, was found Monday evening in the shed near Lanesville, about 15 miles west of Louisville, Ky.

A medical examiner determined that the death was consistent with asphyxiation caused by compression of the neck and chest, said Conservation Officer Mark Farmer.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

“When you’re dealing with a wild animal species, you take on a certain amount of risk,” he said.

Von Allmen had told family members he was going to treat the snake for a medical condition, farmer said. He was alone in the shed with the python for about three hours before his body was found.

Relatives said Von Allmen had 10 to 12 years of experience handling reptiles, according to authorities. The family got the snake as a pet five months ago, Farmer said.

Indiana law does not restrict ownership of snakes, and the python was returned to the family.