South Carolina

Woman Killed in Alligator Attack Was Manicurist on a House Call During South Carolina Lockdown

"She saw the alligator in the pond and was fascinated by the alligator," a deputy wrote

Gary Kellner/The PGA of America via Getty Images

The woman killed in a fatal alligator attack in South Carolina was visiting a client for an in-home nail appointment when curiosity drew her to a nearby pond where she spotted the animal, according to a witness account in a sheriff's report released Tuesday.

Cynthia Covert, 58, drowned after the alligator, which had grabbed a hold of her leg, pulled her under multiple times, Detective Keith Herriott of the Charleston County Sheriff's Office wrote in the report.

South Carolina nail salons have been closed under state orders aimed to slow the spread of coronavirus, but Covert went to the Kiawah Island home of Barbara Howell on Friday to give the woman a manicure, Herriott said.

The homeowner said Covert was acting strange and talking more than she does at the nail salon where she works. "She saw the alligator in the pond and was fascinated," the detective wrote of Howell's story.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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