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Alligator Dragged And Drowned Florida Burglary Suspect

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Dec 10, 2015 09:13 AM EST

One burglary suspect, 22-year-old Matthew Riggins, was killed by an 11-foot alligator in Barefoot Bay lake, Florida, even as he was dodging the authorities, say Brevard County deputies. Investigators claim that Riggins had been in the premises on Nov. 13 in order to commit a lot of burglaries in team with another suspect who has been taken into custody, reported USA Today.

After police arrived on the spot, Riggins went into hiding when he heard reports of two men in black walking behind the area.

His girlfriend had said that he was missing to the Palm Bay Police Department, and also disclosed what he had been doing the night before he disappeared.

The cops said that they had heard someone shouting, but could not locate the source of the cries that night. It was only ten days later that officers found "a mangled corpse" submerged in the lake, realising that the cries were originating from Riggins.

The team of the sheriff's dive found an 11-foot alligator "aggressively approaching" them, according to CBS' Ohio affiliate WBNS-10TV.

"When the body was found, it had injuries that were consistent with an alligator attack," BCSO Maj. Todd Goodyear said. "We had trappers euthanize the gator and when we opened it up, there were some remains inside that were consistent with injuries found on the body."

An autopsy was performed, and concluded that he had drowned after the huge alligator dragged him down under water, according to CBS' Florida affiliate WPEC-TV.

Goodyear said that the burglaries that have been recorded are being probed.

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