Tommie Woodward was mauled to death in the early hours of Friday morning after he ignored signs warning against swimming and leapt into a marina in Southeast Texas.
Woodward was told a large reptile had been spotted, but jumped in shouting “fuck that alligator”, Orange County Police Captain Robert Enmon said.
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Tommie Woodward died after jumping into a marina inhabited by an 11ft alligator
The 400lb alligator in question was shot and killed without a permit days later, game officials said.
The animal was found with a bullet in its head on Monday afternoon in Adams Bayou in Orange, close to where Woodward’s body was found.
Justice of the Peace Rodney Price of Orange County Precinct 4 said remains found inside the carcass were identified as those of Woodward.
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The animal was shot by hunters - without a permit - on Monday
An autopsy determined Woodward died by drowning but lost his left arm below the elbow in the attack.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officers had been searching for the alligator since the fatal attack.
Of the fatal attack, Enmon said: “It was pretty much immediate. He had puncture marks on his upper right shoulder and his left arm and elbow received severe damage. The alligator pulled him down and he came back up yelling.”
Tommie Woodward alligator
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Tommie Woodward(05 of05)
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The owners of the marina recently had spotted a large alligator on a few occasions, and put up a sign warning people to stay out of the water, Enmon said.
The reptile could have been startled during the incident or was possibly protecting its habitat, Enmon said.
"You've got to remember that alligators are a predatory species, they are territorial, and they will take advantage of an opportunity," he said.
Amazing Photos Of Alligators In The Everglades
(01 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(02 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(03 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(04 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(05 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(06 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(07 of08)
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American Alligator pictured at Everglades National Park, Florida. These spectacularly close up alligator pictures were taken by a wildlife photographer brave enough to jump in a lake swarming with the wild reptiles. Jim Abernethy, 52, from Florida even literally played snap with one of the beasts- which he nicknamed, Fluffy- by mimicking the way alligators square up to each other in the wild. While totally submerged in a lake in the wild marshland of the Florida everglades Jim raised his arm above the water like an alligator would raise its jaws to provoke Fluffy into opening his mouth for the 'killer shot.' Luckily for Jim the 200 pound snapper did not choose to clamp her razor sharp teeth on his arm. Jim was also able to get heart stopping pictures of the amphibious hunters looming from the deep. Alligators are at their most unpredictable and dangerous while underwater. (credit:James Abernethy / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)
(08 of08)
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Close up picture of an American Alligator in Everglades, Florida. The pictures were taken so close that at one point the eight-foot 200 pound male American alligator was nudging the photographer's camera aggressively with his nose. It opens its powerful jaws showing rows of fearsome teeth, which are capable of ripping a human's arm clean off. Photographer, Todd Winner, 52, from Vilano Beach, Florida was driving close to the marshy state everglades with his friend, Adam Lintz, 35, from Michigan when they spotted the huge alligator in a marsh by the roadside. (credit:Todd Winner / Barcroft Media / Getty Images)