‘Unfit for human habitation’: Crocodile, 24 live snakes found in Alabama home after 4-year-old shot

By Riley Conlon

Click here for updates on this story

    BLOUNT COUNTY, Alabama (WVTM) — Authorities found reptiles, firearms and drugs when they searched a home following the accidental, self-inflicted shooting of a 4-year-old boy.

The boy was taken to UAB St. Vincent’s Blount and later airlifted to Children’s of Alabama, according to Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey. The child is stable after having surgery.

Blount County deputies learned that the child was suffering from a handgun gunshot wound. One shot went through his arm and leg, deputies said.

The boy’s parents, Cassandra Lutz and Alexander Corrie, did not contact law enforcement following the incident. Deputies were notified by the hospital.

Sheriff Mark Moon said the mother was yelling at the child in the hospital, stating things like, “this is what happens when you play with guns.”

The mother told deputies that she was in the kitchen and the father said that he was outside at the time the gun went off.

When the child was asked what happened, the child said, “I got shot by a gun.”

After obtaining a search warrant, authorities responded to the family’s home in the Sugarland Lake area. There were several trailers on the property. In the trailer where the family lived, deputies also they found:

A juvenile crocodile, Cayman or alligator in a bathroom 24 live snakes, believed to be constrictors and not venomous 6 dead snakes covered in maggots Boxes of mice and rats Multiple unsecured firearms found near where the children were located Drug paraphernalia and suspected marijuana

The animals were in containers without lids. All of the animals are either with animal control or The Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.

Moon said the concept of finding a crocodile in the home was “jarring” and if it got large enough to not contain, it could have been released into a nearby lake and cause problems.

There was also no running water or working restrooms on the property. There were dogs, cats and at least one turkey outside of the home.

“The home that they lived in was unfit for human habitation,” Moon said during the news conference when describing the decaying animals and state of the home during the search warrant.

Another boy younger than 4-years-old was removed from the home. The two children were placed into protective custody.

“It’s a big deal for us to be able to protect life in general, but when you start talking about children and young people, those hold a very special place in my part,” Moon said.

Lutz and Corrie are facing the following charges:

Assault Chemical endangerment of a child Ten counts of animal cruelty Six counts of failure to bury/burn livestock

They are currently being held in the Blount County Jail with the chance for more charges from The Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division for unpermitted animals.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.