Images of the California king snake, now in Islip animal shelter custody, from WNBC
The family who found a California King snake wrapped around a 7-month-old baby's leg on Monday has decided to sue the mattress manufacturer and store where the mattress was purchased.
Baby Isabella and her mother Cari Abatemarco had been visiting her grandparents' home in Brentwood, on Long Island, and grandfather John Abatemarco said, "No grandfather wants to come home to find a snake wrapped around [his granddaughter's] leg." And her uncle Charlie described the scene, "I heard screaming and I came running into the room. The snake dropped off her leg into crib. I grabbed a back scratcher to capture it, not knowing if it was venomous." (It wasn't.)
Now the family will sue Toys R Us and mattress maker Sealy, claiming the mattress wasn't properly packaged when it was sold. While some suspect the snake, which is not indigenous to Long Island, may have been someone's pet that got loose and then slithered into the Abatemarco house to beat the heat, their lawyer said, "Either the heat from the baby drew the snake out of the mattress or just the snake migrated out on its own looking for a meal."
As for the mattress, it's been returned--and it's unclear what Toys R Us will be doing with it! And here's some other good bedding advice: Never bring home used or discarded mattresses, box frames, springs, etc., because they might be infested with bedbugs.
