A woman was mauled to death by an alligator at a South Carolina retirement home community. Her family says the developer's man-made ponds are to blame.

• A South Carolina woman's family filed a lawsuit against a retirement home community for her death.
• Nancy Becker was killed by an alligator who wandered into her backyard in August 2022.

A South Carolina woman's family has sued the developer of the retirement community where she lived claiming the facility's decision to install ponds led to her tragic death.

In August 2022, Nancy Becker, a resident at the Sun City Hilton Head community for residents over 55, was mauled to death in an alligator attack. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed against real estate developer Del Webb, Becker's family claimed the community did not adequately protect residents from nearby predators.

Her family stated in the complaint that Becker was put in a precarious position by Del Webb "by designing and constructing ponds and ponding basins within the Community which attracted hazards and predators such as alligators, without adequate safeguards and protections."

Her family said when an alligator ended up in Becker's backyard, she was helpless: "Becker endured excruciating pain and suffering, including severed limbs, and as a direct result of the alligator attack died from her injuries," the lawsuit stated.

Del Webb did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.

The lawsuit, filed in Beaufort County, South Carolina, includes a claim of negligence and also names the Sun City Community Association and one of its employees as defendants. Tammy Hayes, the employee named as a defendant, was in charge of the alligator culling and hunting permits for the facility, Becker's lawyers said in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, the company failed to erect proper barriers and nets, even though they applied for yearly hunting and culling permits for the alligators, and "particularly knew and were aware of the aggressive nature of alligators within the Community such as the one that attacked and killed Becker."

The family also sued on the grounds that Del Webb fraudulently misrepresented the safety of the facility to the elder residents.

"Becker was safety-conscious: the assertion that she could safely reside in the Community and be safe in her home and its adjacent property was a material consideration in Becker's decision to move into the Community," Becker's lawyers said in the suit.