Colorado Man Dies From a Pet Gila Monster Bite

A Colorado man died in February 2024 after being bitten by a Gila monster he illegally kept as a pet — believed to be the first such death in the United States in nearly a century. Christopher Ward, 34, was found by his girlfriend with the lizard latched onto his hand at their Lakewood home just before midnight on February 12. Ward was bitten for approximately four minutes before seeking medical attention and was placed on life support, dying four days later.

An autopsy confirmed Ward died from complications of Gila monster envenomization, with pre-existing heart and liver conditions as contributing factors. Gila monsters are venomous lizards native to the southwestern U.S. and are a protected species illegal to own as pets in Colorado. Experts described the death as extraordinarily rare, noting that Gila monsters rarely bite unless provoked and that documented fatalities are nearly unheard of in modern medicine.

A four-minute bite from a pet Gila monster killed Christopher Ward, 34, of Lakewood in February 2024, believed to be the first such death in the United States in almost a centuryAP. The autopsy blamed complications of envenomization, with heart and liver disease contributing; Ward drifted in and out of consciousness for two hours before seeking help. His lizards, Winston and Potato, were seized and sent to South Dakota, though Winston soon returned to a University of Northern Colorado lab for venom studyCBS Colorado. Scientists suspect an allergic reaction made this bite lethal when so many before it were not; the findings were never released, and nobody was charged. Watch whether the venom analysis ever surfaces.