Snake death: 27-year-old Pennsylvania man dies days after being strangled by pet at home in Lehigh County

UP MACUNGIE TWP., Pennsylvania (WPVI) – A Lehigh County man died after an incident last week when his pet snake wrapped around his neck prompting an officer to shoot the reptile.

Elliot Senseman, 27, of Upper Macungie Town was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital- Cedar Crest on Sunday morning, according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office.

Officials said Senseman died of traumatic brain injury due to spasmodic asphyxiation. The coroner’s office said the way of death was an accident.

Police were called to Senseman’s home on the 1400th block of Church Street in Fogelsville around 2:12 p.m. last Wednesday.

When they arrived, a family member led them to Senseman lying motionless on the floor with an 18-foot snake wrapped around his neck.

The coroner’s office said it was a snake of the spasmodic type.

One of the responders was able to shoot the snake to death without injuring the man.

“Because the snake was so big, the middle part of the snake was wrapped around the throat. The head of the snake was just far enough away from the victim, so the policeman made a decision in a split second and he proceeded to shoot the snake at it. in. the head,” said Lieutenant Peter Nickischer with the Upper Macungie Township Police Department.

Lieutenant Nickischer said the snake did not die immediately.

“It doesn’t look like it just died. It started to slide, fortunately away from the officers, away from the direction they were trying to pull this gentleman.” Lieutenant Nickischer said. “They realized it was a matter of life and death with only a few seconds to make that decision. Praise the officers. They did what they had to do. It was a safe shot.”

Action News residents who spoke to them said they regularly see their neighbor in his front yard holding a snake, and they have seen many snakes through the window.

Police said they had never responded to anything like this before.

“I think one of the officers described it as a scene from a horror movie, and that’s probably the most appropriate way to describe it,” Nickischer said.

Outside of the coroner’s office, Senseman’s death is being investigated by the Upper Macungie Town Police Department