A man uttered three chilling words before he jumped into a lake and was mauled to death after being attacked by a huge alligator.
Tommie Woodward was 28, living and working in Texas, when he decided to go for a swim after playing pool, drinking beer and enjoying himself at Burkart’s Marina – a laid-back bar on Adams Bayou in Orange, Texas in 2015.
It was 2am, and the bartender on duty, Michelle Wright, tried to talk him out of it, since weeks earlier the marina’s owner had spotted an unusually large alligator swimming around the water and put up a “No Swimming” sign outside.
Knowing locals swam there regularly with no care for the potential danger – after all, no alligator attacks had proven fatal in Texas since 1836 – Tommie persisted.
He stripped off his shirt and wallet and headed for the water with his partner, Victoria LeBlanc, who quickly spotted an alligator beneath the docks and alerted him.
View 3 ImagesNo one had passed from alligator attacks in Texas since 1836(Image: Getty Images/500px)
His response became his last words: “F*** that gator.”
Moments after he jumped into the water, Tommie’s arm was seized by the animal. LeBlanc jumped in to try to help, and he told her to get back to shore.
The woman called 911, but soon spotted Tommie floating face-down near the pier before the alligator pulled him under again. His body was recovered around two hours later, missing his left arm from the elbow down.
Tommie’s death went viral almost overnight, picked up by major outlets and local TV news alike, alongside photos from his Facebook page, which prompted comment sections filled with cruel jokes at his expense.
View 3 ImagesTommie’s siblings were unhappy with the way their brother was initially portrayed by the media(Image: Facebook)
His identical twin brother, Brian, spoke to Buzzfeed about his outrage at the internet’s reaction to the tragedy, saying he avoided the news entirely in the aftermath, refusing interviews and shutting reporters down when they came to his door.
Days later, a local, Kent Robnett – who had seen the same oversized alligator near the bayou weeks earlier and worried about his own children swimming nearby – took matters into his own hands and found and shot the alligator, recognising it by its distinctive facial scarring.
Wildlife officials, working alongside a licensed hunter, examined the alligator’s stomach contents and found human remains, confirming it as the same animal that had killed Tommie. In the aftermath, Robnett received nothing more than a written warning.
Burkart’s Marina closed permanently in 2016, just before its longtime owner passed away. He reportedly struggled with guilt over what had happened on his property, despite having posted warning signs beforehand.
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Tommie’s mother, Kelley Creamer-Shibles, also commented on how unexpected her son’s cause of death felt: “I always thought it was going to be some stupid car accident, not an alligator attack.”