This is truly a bizarre and tragically sad story. Apparently this teenager was fascinated by snakes and reptiles and also was suicidal. What better way to combine your two interests than to kill yourself by allowing a deadly snake to bite you multiple times. His family owned a per store, so he stole a monacled cobra and drove about 70 miles to Austin where he parked his truck in the parking lot of a Lowes and died. No telling when he applied the snake to his body, but he was covered in numerous bites that showed no sign of struggle or an attempt to move away. Most of the bites were to the left side of his body, exactly the way a right handed person would hold a snake to allow it to bite. The cobra venom causes paralysis of all your muscles including your respiratory muscles, so you in fact suffocate. Terrible way to die. I must say that this is one of those stories that come along once in a blue moon and make us appreciate the ancient, mystical lure that snakes hold over some people. They scare the hell out of me – even the non-lethal ones in my garden.
