Exclusive Community Faces Hefty Penalty After Tragic Alligator Attack Claims Grandmother’s Life

A tragic incident in South Carolina led to the death of a grandmother, who was attacked and consumed by a 10-foot alligator. Her family has filed a lawsuit, claiming that the private community where she lived had assured residents of their safety yet failed to take any action to prevent such attacks.

The victim, 69-year-old Holly Jenkins, was a resident of Spanish Wells on Hilton Head Island. It has been reported that her family reached a settlement with the community last week. The lawsuit accused the community of not fulfilling its promise to address and manage known “risks” effectively, as stated in the legal complaint filed by her family.

Documents from the court reveal that a settlement was approved on May 5 for an undisclosed amount. The court order stated, “The offer of settlement made on behalf of the defendants and their insurers is solely to buy their peace from litigation and save the expense of trial if suit were pursued under either the wrongful death or survival statutes.”

The Jenkins family claims that the Spanish Wells Club, along with its property owners association and the management company of the private community, were aware of a rising trend in alligator attacks in Hilton Head. Despite this knowledge, they argue that no effective measures were taken before the grandmother was killed while walking her dog on July 4, 2023.

The lawsuit further contends that the community and its representatives knew about the potential dangers posed by these large and often hazardous animals. Despite assurances to provide “on-site alligator risk management services,” the family alleges that Spanish Wells did not implement adequate safety measures to protect its residents.

“Residents reasonably relied upon defendants’ representations and assurances that they were managing and reducing the risks posed by alligators,” the family’s complaint said. “Jenkins, a resident and community member of the Spanish Wells neighborhood in Beaufort County, was attacked and killed by a 10-foot alligator while taking a walk within her community.”

The complaint said Jenkins’ husband and her adult son were at her residence and saw their family dog in the backyard wearing its leash, with Jenkins nowhere to be found, after she said she was going to take the dog for a walk.

“The two men began to search the neighborhood for Holly,” the document recounted. “Holly’s son heard splashing in a pond near the family home. When he approached the pond on his golf cart, he saw his mother lying face down in the water with a large alligator swimming nearby.”

Jenkins’ son tried to distract the “massive” alligator to keep it away from her after contacting local authorities. The predator was killed upon their arrival.

“Jenkins was pronounced dead at the scene. She did not, however, die in the initial attack,” the complaint said. “A necropsy of the alligator revealed Ms. Jenkins’ foot and hand in its stomach.”

Jenkins’ family blamed her death on her community’s “failures to provide reasonably safe premises,” per the complaint.

“Upon information and belief, defendants were not, in fact, using reasonable measures to assess, understand, and reduce the risk posed by alligators in the Spanish Wells community,” the document charged. “As such, as of the date of Ms. Jenkins’ death, the ponds and lagoons had not been appropriately monitored, no effort had been made to identify ‘nuisance’ alligators that should have been removed, and defendants woefully underestimated the number of alligator depredation tags needed to appropriately protect residents and guests within Spanish Wells.”

The Spanish Wells Club and G.W. Services did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment. They also failed to respond to requests for comment from the local newspaper The Island Packet.

An obituary for Jenkins that was published by the Packet described her as a “devoted wife, loving mother and grandmother, a dear sister, a loyal friend, and a proud dog mom.”