LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- An Indiana man was
killed when his family's 14-foot reticulated python
constricted his neck and shoulders, an autopsy found
Tuesday.
Patrick Von Allmen's
body was found late Monday in a shed behind his
family's home in Lanesville, the Louisville, Ky.,
Courier-Journal reported. Family members said he had
gone into the shed about three hours earlier
intending to treat the snake for a medical problem.
The autopsy was done by
the Kentucky State Medical Examiner's Office.
Von Allmen's family had
owned the python for about five months. Indiana
Conservation Officer Mark Farmer said no permit was
needed for the snake because it is a non-venomous
species.
Relatives described the
dead man, who was 23, as someone who had been
handling snakes and other reptiles for a decade.
The reticulated python,
native to southeast Asia, is possibly the world's
longest snake, with specimens of up to 33 feet
recorded. It is a slender snake with a beautifully
patterned skin much prized by collectors, but it is
also a powerful constrictor.