New details emerge from autopsy of Monterey swimmer killed by brutal shark bite

A newly released autopsy report revealed that Erica Fox, who died in December after a shark attack in Monterey Bay, was killed by a single shark bite and suffered brutal injuries. 

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The Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office officially determined that Fox, a 55-year-old triathlete died from “sharp and blunt force injuries and submersion in water due to a shark attack,” according to an autopsy report obtained by the Monterey Herald. 

Fox had injuries to her right knee, thighs and abdomen, the news outlet reported. Fox’s wetsuit and swimsuit were found torn in areas that corresponded to her injuries, and there was a “semicircle of tooth wounds” from her knees to her abdomen, according to the Monterey Herald. 

The force of the shark bite fractured Fox’s pelvis, and a major artery in her midsection was severed, the report said, according to the Herald. 

Chris Lowe, a marine biology professor and a director of the Shark Lab at CSU Long Beach, told the Monterey Herald that he believes the shark may have mistaken Fox for a seal or sea lion.

The attack happened on Dec. 21, during an open-water swim in Monterey Bay with a large swimming group founded by Fox, the Kelp Krawlers. During the swim, Fox went missing, and authorities launched a search operation on Lovers Point in Pacific Grove. Witnesses at the time reported the sighting, and one person said they believe they saw the shark with a human body in its mouth.

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Fox’s body washed up on a remote Santa Cruz County beach several days later.

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, shark incidents are rare in the state. Since the 1950s, there have been fewer than 250 incidents, and the majority of them were by white sharks, more commonly called great white sharks. Of those incidents, fewer than 20 were fatal, the department reported.

A shark incident is defined by authorities as a case where “a shark approached and touched a person in the water, or touched a person’s surfboard, kayak, paddleboard, etc.,” and it does not include shark sightings with no contact to humans. 

The latest incident occurred at Pillar Point in San Mateo County on July 12, when someone was kayaking. The person was not injured. Since Fox’s death last year, the CDFW reported two nonfatal injuries from shark attacks, in January and March of this year. No new fatalities have been reported.