Texas woman Christine Rollins killed by pack of feral hogs on way to work
- Carer was found dead outside elderly clients’ home, between car and front door
- Attack was one of few fatal incidents to occur amid population explosion of invasive species causing widespread damage in US
A woman’s killing by multiple feral hogs outside a rural Texas home where she worked as a caretaker was a rare deadly attack by the animals, US authorities said.
Christine Rollins, 59, was attacked early Sunday in the small town of Anahuac, located more than 65km east of Houston. Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne said Monday that the attack happened around 6am, when it was still dark outside.
When Rollins didn’t enter the home where she worked at the usual time, the 84-year-old woman she cared for went outside and found Rollins in the yard, the sheriff said. She was lying between her own vehicle and the front door of the home, he said.
Deputies arrived to find Rollins dead with multiple injuries. Because there were different sizes of bites on her body, investigators think multiple hogs attacked her, Hawthorne said.
“This is a very rare incident,” the sheriff said, adding that the coroner said Rollins bled to death after the attack by feral hogs.
“In my 35 years, I will tell you it’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.”