Daughter of woman found in gator’s jaws relives moment she learned about gruesome death
The daughter of the homeless Florida woman whose body was found in the jaws of a nearly 14-foot-long alligator said she prayed at first it was not her – only for police to later show up at her door step to confirm her worst fears.
Sabrina Peckham’s daughter, Breauna Dorris, said she feared the worst when she learned that the gruesome attack occurred about 50 feet away from her mother was staying Friday in Largo.
“Me knowing that she was staying 50 feet from where it happened, I prayed, ‘I hope it’s not her, I hope it’s not her,’” her daughter Breauna Dorris, 23, told WFTS.
“Later that evening, law enforcement arrived at my door and pretty much told me that it was her and she was gone,” she said.
“Sometimes it’s just like you don’t remember at all that she’s not with us, and then I think that she’s going to walk through the door any second, and then you remember and then all of it comes back,” Dorris added.
The grieving woman said her mom had struggled with homelessness.
“It didn’t matter that she was homeless, she was nice to everybody,” Dorris told the outlet.
The community has rallied to raise money for funeral expenses.
“My mother was not cared about by many, but to know that in times like this where we need our little community that people are coming out showing their support, donating, praying, sending kind words,” Dorris said.
“It’s all that I could ask for in a time like this, honestly,” she added. “I’m sure my mother is just gleaming knowing that even one person cared about her, let alone thousands.”
In an emotional Facebook post, Dorris expressed her love for her late mom.
“To my mother: I love you more than I ever expressed, I miss you more than you’ll ever know and I pray that you are looking down over me and your grandchildren,” she wrote over the weekend.
“Please protect us. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I pray you are at peace and you are no longer struggling or hurting,” Dorris added.
A cause of death has not been determined pending an autopsy. It was unclear if the gator killed Peckham or she was already dead when it grabbed her body.
The mother and grandmother was previously arrested on July 14 for trespassing onto county wetlands about a half-mile from where she was found dead, court records show. She pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor and was released from jail on Sept. 8.
