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These pictures were taken during the early afternoon of Saturday, 04 September 2010, in Nassau Bahamas. They show the carcass of a 12-foot tiger shark, along with the remains of a human male.
The shark was captured around 10am by three men - Humphrey Simmons an investment banker, Keith Ferguson, and Stanley Bernard - all of whom were together on a deep-sea fishing trip 38 miles south of Nassau.
During the trip, one particular shark continued following their boat, stealing all of their catches and breaking their lines, no matter where or how often they would change locations. At one point the shark even rammed their 30-foot boat. While reeling in a large grouper fish that they had on the line the tiger shark again chased after their catch and in the process it also became hooked on their line, but would not let go or break the line. The shark became more aggressive and because Mr. Simmons' 10 year-old daughter was also on board Simmons told Mr. Bernard to get the shotgun, and Bernard shot the shark several times in the head. At that point they tied a rope around the back fin and planned to drag it in so as to remove the hook and then release the dead shark into the sea, but as they put the rope around it, a partly digested and decaying piece of a left human leg fell out of its mouth. At first it appeared "unreal" to them, but as soon as they realized that it was human remains they brought the leg on board placing it in a bucket, and attempted to call the authorities, but could not reach them. The belly of the shark was greatly distended and they feared the possibility that several bodies were in its stomach.
They decided to drag the shark back to shore. About 30 minutes into their return they saw a Royal Bahamas Defence Forces boat and flagged it down. After telling them the story they transferred the shark to the RBDF who brought it to the Coral Harbour Base in Nassau on their boat.
When they arrived it was about 12:30pm. The shark was cut open and, along with the portion of the left leg that had fallen out of its mouth earlier, they found in total two legs, two arms, and a torso bitten in half, but no head. No clothing or identifying marks were present on the man's remains.
Forensic pathologists performed a DNA test and did a fingerprint analysis which allowed them to positively identify the victim as 43 year-old Judson Newton, a sailor on a cargo ship and part-time chef. Newton and four friends went on a boating trip on 29 August, leaving from Jaws Beach southwest of New Providence Island where parts of the 1987 film "Jaws 4: The Revenge" was filmed ("this time - it's personal"). Their boat experienced engine trouble and they were not able to summon help. Newton and one of his friends, Franklin R. Brown, jumped into the sea to swim back to shore and get help. It is believed that Newton and Brown had both drowned and the shark ate Newton's dead body, regurgitating the head somewhere at sea. Because Newton was a sailor he was known to be a good, strong swimmer. His friends are still puzzled about what happened to cause his drowning. He was not married and did not have any children, although he left behind his mom and a brother. The body of Franklin Brown has never been located.
