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Autopsy: Cassowary Severed Artery In Alachua Man's Arm During Fatal Bird Attack

FILE - In this June 30, 2015, file photo, an endangered cassowary roams in the Daintree National Forest, Australia. On Friday, April 12, 2019, a cassowary, a large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea, killed its owner when it attacked him after he fell on his property near Gainesville, Fla. The Gainesville Sun reports the Gulf Coast Livestock Auction will auction the cassowary that killed 75-year-old Marvin Hajos in accordance with his last wishes. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring, File)
FILE - In this June 30, 2015, file photo, an endangered cassowary roams in the Daintree National Forest, Australia. On Friday, April 12, 2019, a cassowary, a large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea, killed its owner when it attacked him after he fell on his property near Gainesville, Fla. The Gainesville Sun reports the Gulf Coast Livestock Auction will auction the cassowary that killed 75-year-old Marvin Hajos in accordance with his last wishes. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring, File)
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The Florida man killed in a bizarre attack earlier this year by one of the world’s deadliest birds suffered deep puncture wounds and slashing cuts from the animal’s sharp talons that severed a major artery in his arm, according to a newly released autopsy.

Diagrams of injuries to Marvin Hajos, 75, show more than a dozen lacerations across his face, neck, back, abdomen, thighs, legs and right arm, including damage to his brachial artery, the major blood vessel of the upper arm.

Investigators performed the autopsy less than 24 hours after Hajos died in the attack in April on his farm in Alachua, northwest of Gainesville. The bird was a flightless, exotic cassowary that Hajos was breeding. Such birds can stand over 6 feet tall.

Fresh Take Florida obtained the autopsy this week under the state’s public records law more than four months after requesting it.

The sensational tragedy drew international attention because of its peculiar circumstances. Hajos apparently fell near a fenced area where the cassowary was kept, but within striking distance of the animal’s large talons. 

In an audio recording of the initial 911 call, also obtained this week, Hajos himself is heard trying to give his address to a dispatcher and pleading, “Would you send an ambulance, please?” His voice sounded weak and hurried.

“OK, we’re going to get you some help,” the dispatcher assured Hajos.

Earlier medical reports said Hajos suffered a cardiac arrest caused by the lacerations and blood loss, as paramedics tried to save him.

Those reports include a minute-by-minute account of the ultimately unsuccessful efforts to revive and save Hajos. 

Paramedics found Hajos unresponsive and barely breathing when they began treating him roughly 14 minutes after the attack. Twice over the next 28 minutes, as paramedics applied chest compressions, Hajos’ pulse registered as non-existent. “This was a cardiac arrest,” the report said.

Hajos had a history of heart problems and also had just been released from a hospital after treatment for cellulitis, a potentially fatal bacterial skin infection. Both the newly disclosed autopsy and an interview with a death investigator for the area medical examiner, Bill Grotjahn, showed that Hajos died from lacerations and bleeding.

“It was an accidental death, most likely from injuries sustained from the bird,” Grotjahn said. “This had nothing to do with his heart conditions.”

On the 911 calls, after confusion about the farm’s address, Hajos asked an employee to call the dispatcher back. The employee did not know details of the injuries or what had happened, but he speculated exactly: “I’m sure he got kicked by the cassowary.”

“He's an old man, he’s got a lot of issues,” he said. “He was outside working in the yard, so I’m not sure if something fell on him, I’m not sure at all what it could possibly be. He just called me and said ‘send an ambulance, send an ambulance, send an ambulance.’”

The dispatcher warned paramedics who were on their way: “There are a lot of animals.”

The paramedics treated Hajos at the scene for 12 minutes before driving to UF Health Shands Hospital. In the ambulance they continued their rescue efforts and his pulse surged as the paramedics applied chest compressions, but five minutes later his heart stopped. Shortly before they arrived at the hospital Hajos’ heart restarted, but he died a short time later.

After the attack, the cassowary that killed Hajos was sold at the Gulf Coast Livestock Auction.

Hajos was not required to have a permit to breed the birds, which are native to Australia, New Guinea or other South Pacific islands. Even after the deadly attack, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission enacted no new rules or restrictions about owning them.

“If the animals are being used for commercial breeding, they are considered domestic animals and aren’t required to have a permit,” agency spokeswoman Karen Parker said. “A permit would only be required if these animals were interacting with the public.”

Everitt is a reporter for WUFT News who can be reached by emailing news@wuft.org or calling 352-392-6397.