its sad to loose a life, but yes I believe an 8ft rock could/can take you out. what is concerning to me is the mothers statement "having the snake for years" a well fed rock python can/will achieve 8ft in 1 year by 2yrs it should have been 10to12 ft even for a male! under feeding giants is risky and imho all to common not saying that's the case here but it is possible... sad
