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As Indiana Jones famously said, “I hate snakes.” The fear of these slithering creatures is so universal that it’s often viewed as a deep-seated human instinct. While snake bites do happen, especially during outdoor activities like camping and hiking, it’s rare for someone to die from one. Thanks to the existence of antivenoms for almost every venomous snake, it takes an extraordinary series of events for a person to succumb to a snakebite.
The following accounts reveal the bizarre and unexpected ways people have met their end at the hands of snakes. Some individuals even seemingly sought death by snake, leading us to ask the haunting question: “Why’d it have to be snakes?”
10. John David Brock
In the Bible, snakes symbolize the Devil. In Jensen, Kentucky, at a Pentecostal church, pastors handle venomous rattlesnakes as part of a religious display, hoping to prove that God’s protection will keep them safe. During these services, they keep the snakes in motion while passionately preaching into a microphone, all while loud music plays in the background.
Their family tradition is so unusual that National Geographic documented it. As shown in the video above, one pastor was bitten on the finger. Instead of seeking medical help, he let his finger blacken and rot down to the bone before it eventually fell off.
In 2015, their luck finally ran out when one pastor, John David Brock, was handling one of these venomous snakes. During his sermon, the snake bit him several times in the arm. Instead of heading to the hospital or using antivenom, he chose to keep praying. Jesus didn’t intervene that day. He passed away at the age of 60.
9. Arslan Valeev
A young Russian man named Arslan Valeev worked as a zookeeper. In 2017, after accusing his wife, Katya, of infidelity, he brutally assaulted her, leaving her with a concussion. She immediately left him, filed for divorce, and stopped responding to his calls.
In a desperate final effort to win her back, Valeev began live streaming on his YouTube channel, apologizing for beating Katya. In his last stream, he tearfully confessed that he would prefer to die than live without her.
Holding up a black mamba snake, he allowed it to bite his finger, displaying the bleeding wound while tears streamed down his face. He even shared Katya’s phone number, urging viewers to contact her so she could visit him one final time.
He tried to stand up and grab something in the room, but the venom overtook his body more quickly than he expected. His eyes rolled back, and his death was broadcast live to his audience.
No one reached out to his ex. Only one viewer called an ambulance for Valeev. By the time paramedics arrived, it was already too late. A friend later claimed that Valeev never intended to commit suicide. He had the antivenom on standby and was only trying to stage a dramatic stunt to lure Katya back. Unfortunately, it all went horribly wrong.
8. Karl P. Schmidt
In 1957, Karl P. Schmidt, a herpetologist (snake expert) working at the Chicago Natural History Museum, was approached by an employee from the Lincoln Park Zoo. The zoo had a green snake that couldn’t be identified using any of their available books, so they sought Schmidt’s expertise.
Having discovered new species of snakes before, Schmidt was thrilled by the prospect of another new discovery. However, as he was examining the snake, it bit him. That’s when he realized it was a venomous boomslang snake.
At the time, boomslang antivenom was only available in Africa, so Schmidt knew there was no hope for his survival. Rather than rushing to the hospital, he took a scientific approach. He documented all his symptoms as they occurred until the moment of his death. Thanks to his meticulous records, future herpetologists were able to study the agonizing effects of the venom, which caused him to bleed from nearly every part of his body.
7. Daniel Brandon
Daniel Brandon, aged 31, was known for sharing photos on Instagram with his pet African rock python, Tiny, draped around his neck and shoulders. While pythons are infamous for constricting their prey before consuming it, Brandon didn’t mind this terrifying aspect and made it a routine.
Still living with his parents, Brandon’s mother heard a loud banging sound coming from his room and thought he must have dropped a dumbbell while working out. When she checked on him, she found him lying on the floor, dead from asphyxiation. The snake was found outside its cage, hiding beneath a table.
This marked the first death caused by a python in the last century. Some herpetologists argue that Tiny didn’t kill its owner, pointing out that the snake showed no marks from attempts to be removed. Others believe that people should never keep African rock pythons as pets in the first place, regardless of the circumstances.
6. Grant Thompson
Texas is one of the few states in the U.S. that allows residents to own dangerous exotic pets, provided they have the proper permits. Grant Thompson’s parents ran a pet shop in Temple, Texas, and they lived in an apartment next to the store. One of 18-year-old Grant’s responsibilities was transporting snakes and tarantulas in his car.
On one occasion, he pulled into a Lowe’s parking lot, and a cobra managed to escape its container. The snake bit Grant several times in the arms before slithering out of the car.
When the police arrived, they initially believed Grant had committed suicide due to his history of depression. They found no signs that he tried to fight off the snake, and cobra venom is known to alter one’s mental state, causing paralysis. It typically takes about 30 minutes for someone to die from a cobra bite.
If Grant had indeed taken his own life, he chose an agonizingly slow way to do so. It took several days for authorities to locate the snake, although it remained in the Lowe’s parking lot. Fortunately, the snake didn’t claim any other victims.
5. Jack Redmond
Jack Redmond, a 70-year-old man from Virginia, spent his retirement years caring for his collection of 40 snakes, 24 of which were venomous. These snakes lived in the spare room of his home. In October 2012, when his wife knocked on his door to check on him, she found his lifeless body on the floor, a snake bite from a Chinese palm viper visible on him.
Since keeping venomous snakes as pets is illegal, Chesterfield County police confiscated them from Redmond’s home. The snakes were taken to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, where authorities arranged for them to be relocated to a local zoo.
The snakes appeared to be healthy, and it was evident that Redmond had been knowledgeable in their care. He had been fascinated by snakes since childhood. So it was unusual that he would let his guard down around a viper.
Redmond was battling cancer at the time of his death. The police deemed the incident “suspicious” and opened an investigation. However, any findings from the investigation, if they existed, were not made public.
4. Wade Westbrook
Wade Westbrook, a 26-year-old from Tennessee, had an unusual interest in snakes. His mother mentioned that he had once been bitten by a copperhead but survived after receiving antivenom.
In January 2011, a friend brought a venomous copperhead snake to Wade’s house. Authorities didn’t suspect that Wade was keeping the snake illegally, even though snakes typically hibernate during the winter.
The friend was curious about the snake’s gender, and Wade, being the local “snake expert,” was asked for help. Since transporting snakes in Tennessee requires a permit, the entire situation was ill-advised.
As expected, the snake bit Wade. Instead of calling emergency services, he attempted to extract the venom himself. However, he passed out. After 10 minutes of confusion, his friend finally called for an ambulance, realizing that Wade's self-treatment had failed.
Wade passed away before he could make it to the hospital.
3. George Yancy
No one enjoys using the filthy bathrooms at gas stations, but sometimes you have no choice when nature calls. This was the unfortunate situation for 35-year-old George Yancy as he drove through Smithville, Texas, on his way home from work.
After using the bathroom key, Yancy dropped his pants and sat down, unaware that a venomous rattlesnake was coiled beneath his feet.
When Yancy bent down to pull up his pants, the snake struck, biting him on the hand. Rattlesnake venom quickly spreads, bringing intense pain, swelling, difficulty breathing, blurry vision, and severe nausea. Without immediate medical care, the venom can cause permanent damage within just 30 minutes.
Tragically, help came too late for George Yancy, and he succumbed to his injuries. The only takeaway from his death is the importance of looking before you sit.
2. Norman Murburg
Any soldier who enlists in the US Army knows that they may be faced with the ultimate sacrifice. While most soldiers envision dying heroically in the line of duty, they never expect to meet their end at the hands of a snake.
Norman Murburg, 20, was undergoing training to join the Special Forces at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Recruits undergo a variety of tests, including wilderness survival training.
Norman completed the first phase of his training, but he failed to appear at the second check-in. The Army didn’t find his body until the following day, and they reported that he had been bitten multiple times by a water moccasin or 'cottonmouth' snake.
After reviewing the photos of his son’s body, Norman’s father, Mike, rejected the Army’s version of events. He suspected a cover-up, believing that the harsh conditions during training led to his son’s collapse from dehydration, not a snake bite.
In 2010, the US Army revised Norman Marburg’s cause of death to 'undetermined.' While it seems unlikely that a snake killed him, we thought this snake-related story was too intriguing not to share.
1. Timothy Levins
In 2014, Timothy Levins, a 52-year-old father, took his family camping at Sam A. Baker State Park in Missouri. He spotted a snake and, eager to show his teenage children, bent down to pick it up. Unfortunately, he had no idea what species the snake was, and it bit him.
Timothy returned to the family’s cabin to clean the snake bite. Feeling unwell, he sat down on the couch. At that point, he still hadn't realized that the snake was a venomous copperhead.
His children watched in horror as their father began convulsing on the couch, prompting them to call 911. Timothy passed away later that night at the hospital. He was only the third person in Missouri’s history to die from a copperhead bite.
The Missouri Department of Conservation issued a statement, humorously noting that you're more likely to be killed by falling space debris than by a copperhead snake. Moral of the story: don't pick one up.
