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Woman killed by alligator on Kiawah Island was doing homeowner’s nails

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Authorities say the woman attacked and killed by an alligator in a gated community along the South Carolina coast was visiting the homeowner to do her nails.

Charleston County deputies said 58-year-old Cynthia Covert was trying to touch the animal at a Kiawah Island pond when it grabbed her Friday. A police report said Covert didn’t scream as the alligator attacked her and dragged her into the water.

That police report said after briefly getting away from the alligator, Covert stood in waist-deep water and said, “I guess I won’t do this again,” but the alligator grabbed her in its jaws and took her under again.

An autopsy report determined Covert drowned.

Authorities say a Charleston County deputy had to shoot and kill the alligator to get Covert away from it.

The police report says the woman Covert was staying with said she didn’t seem herself Friday and walked toward the alligator, which lunged and grabbed her in its mouth when she was about 4 feet away.