Case closed: No grounds for homicide investigation in fatal snakebite of Nixa man
The investigation into the strange death of a Nixa man bitten by a cottonmouth snake in May has been concluded without a clear understanding of how he died, according to Christian County Sheriff Brad Cole.
“The manner of death could not be determined,” Cole said Friday. “When you absolutely can’t say for sure how it happened, that’s what you put.”
Cole said the death certificate for Gilbert De Leon, 37, lists four factors that caused his death:
•Anaphylactic shock
•Oxycodone intoxication
•Ethanol intoxication
•Snake bite
Cole, who was the Christian County coroner when De Leon died, previously said a toxicology report showed De Leon had a lethal level of the narcotic oxycodone in his system, along with alcohol and evidence of two venomous snake bites — one on each leg.
The report also found a nonlethal level of the narcotic hydrocodone in his system.
De Leon was wading in the James River when he was bitten by a snake that Cole suspected to be a venomous cottonmouth. De Leon’s girlfriend later reported to authorities that he refused to go to a hospital to be treated for the snake bites.
She found him dead in bed the following morning.
Cole previously said De Leon’s death might have been considered a homicide case if evidence showed someone had given him the lethal dose of oxycodone.
“But we couldn’t find any witnesses who gave him the oxycodone,” Cole said Friday. “The case is done, unless there’s more information brought forward by somebody.”
Snakebite fatalities are rare in Missouri. When the Nixa case came to light, Missouri Department of Conservation herpetologist Jeff Briggler said he thought it was the first cottonmouth-related snakebite death in Missouri.
“As far as I know, that's the first on record for a cottonmouth fatality in the state,” Briggler said in May. “There have been other snakebite deaths but, at least in recent times, those have been from rattlesnakes or copperheads.”