Father of two dies after snake bite

The residents of Eileen Court in Lockyer Valley’s Kensington Grove were shaken when a father of two, in his 60s, passed away after being bitten by a snake inside his house. Before the paramedics arrived, his wife’s chilling screams could be heard by the neighbors. The type of snake that caused the tragedy remains unknown, but is suspected to be an eastern brown snake. The man was a snake handler, and is known to have kept pythons as pets.

The incident also affected the people living nearby, including Michelle Vedredi, who lives next door to the site of the tragedy. She was contacted by multiple people after they had noticed the presence of a helicopter, four ambulances, and police cars. Ms. Vedredi reported that a few days before the incident, she had seen the same type of snake, an eastern brown snake, traversing through her yard.

Heather McMurray, a contractor at Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, commented on the situation, saying, “The heat and the humidity is certainly bringing the snakes out – the pythons are loving the humidity, and the brown snakes are loving the hot, dry days”. As the season for snakes in Queensland is currently at its highest, running from October to April, this kind of incident is more likely to occur. The most recent fatality due to a snake bite in Queensland was in November when a woman was bitten in North Burnett.