Alligator In Florida Spotted With A Piece of Human Parts In Its Mouth Starts A Homicide Investigation

A homicide investigation has been launched in Florida after an alligator was found with a human arm in its jaws. The alligator was discovered by a Florida Fresh Water Game Commission biologist on a routine patrol of the John C. and Mariana Jones/Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area on a Wednesday morning.

This routine patrol was a standard procedure. But what caught their attention was a human limb dangling from the alligators’ mouth!

In an interview with Newsweek, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said, “She noticed a medium-sized gator with a human arm in its mouth. She called the law enforcement part of that state agency and they came out and spent all day looking. At nightfall, they did find human arm remains of a human being.”

A call was made to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, prompting investigators to respond to the wildlife reserve. Following the discovery of the alligator with the human arm in its mouth, investigators went on to discover a hand and a portion of a leg. A second body part was also discovered in a separate canal, about a mile away, and was positively identified. More remains were uncovered in a shallow grave nearby, which was previously undiscovered.

Snyder further explained, “We did find another part of what we believe, and I’m waiting for the medical examiner to tell us, is another part of a human. So that’s where we were yesterday morning, and we spent all day out there. Looking for a lot of remains after that second finding, we haven’t found anything.”

The human remains were identified by medical examiners thanks to fingerprints. They belonged to St. Lucie County resident Dustin Davis Mills, 42. When Mills was alive, he was arrested and had criminal records that included many convictions for drug trafficking, resisting arrest with violence, and assaulting police enforcement or firefighters.

In February 2020, he was released from prison for the last time.

Martin and Palm Beach counties share the John C. and Mariana Jones/Hungryland Wildlife and Environmental Area, which is a protected nature reserve that includes more than 16,600 acres and is managed by the National Park Service. It is located seven miles west of Jupiter, a tiny coastal town, and is a popular camping, fishing, and hiking site.

Around 1.3 million alligators can be found in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. According to the data, 442 unprovoked bite incidents occurred in the state between 1948 and 2021, with 26 of those resulting in human fatalities.

Reports say that this investigation is currently being treated as a homicide. Snyder said, “The overwhelming likelihood is it’s a homicide, and we are treating it as a homicide. Now that we know something about the victim, there was no reason for him to have me out there. He wasn’t camping, he wasn’t fishing. So if he was murdered, which we really do believe that’s the case, he was murdered out there, or he was taken out there and discarded.”

Since the discovery, the preserve has been closed to the public, and crime scene tape has been placed on the pathways to block any entry. Dive teams are also searching for clues in the water, while dogs are helping the search team on the ground with detectives riding ATVs.