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AVILA BEACH, Calif. - A great white shark believed to be 15 to 18 feet long killed a woman as she swam at a beach in central California, preliminary autopsy results showed Wednesday.
Deborah Franzman was attacked Tuesday while swimming 75 yards offshore alongside a group of seals, which often are preyed on by sharks. It was the first deadly shark attack in California in nearly 10 years.
Bite marks on Franzman's legs were consistent with those seen in previous attacks by great white sharks, San Luis Obispo County sheriff's Lt. Martin Basti said.
Shark expert Robert Lea, who was present during the autopsy, estimated that the fish was 15 to 18 feet long based on the victim's injuries and the size of the bite marks.
"That's incredibly large," Basti said.
Adult great white sharks average 15 feet in length, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey.
They can reach 21 feet long, said Chamois Andersen, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game. She said a great white shark that is 18 feet can weigh more than 4,000 pounds.
Franzman likely bled to death after her left femoral artery was severed, Basti said.
"The water was full of blood," said witness Antonio Neotti, 15.
It was the 10th fatal shark attack in California since 1952 and the first death since 1994, according to state Department of Fish and Game records.
Franzman, 50, of Nipomo, a sociology instructor at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, swam in the area several times a week. She was in a full wet suit and swim fins when she was attacked.
Lea said the shark may have mistaken Franzman for one of the seals. "If you are a swimmer on the surface, you have a silhouette that looks like a marine mammal," he said.
The beach, south of Morro Bay about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles, was closed to swimmers after the attack.
Great white sharks are a protected species in California.