Erie Man May Have Died From Black Widow Bites

LAFAYETTE, Colo. (CBS4) - A black widow spider may be to blame for the death of an Erie man. Investigators are waiting for autopsy results.

Jeff Seale, 40, reported being bitten by a black widow as many as 19 times. He died weeks later.

Seale's sister, Stephanie Baum, said his family isn't still sure what happened. He was being treated for the spider bites. Aside from having some high blood pressure, Seale was perfectly healthy.

A friend said Seale's doctor told him he had a 30 percent chance of dying from the bites. But Seale's family said he was tough and nobody expected him to die.

Seale had a day job in the software development field, but his passion and joy was working at Academy Stables in Lafayette.

"He just thrived off of it. It just made him very happy and content," Academy Stables owner Don Dimig said.

Seale had approached Dimig a few years ago about spending more time at the stables. It wasn't long before he became the stable manager."

"He was very personable with the horses. He knew each one of their names and their characteristics," Dimig said.

"His claim to fame growing up was baseball. But once his baseball years were over his passion became horses," Baum said.

People at the stables are still in shock about Seale's death.

Seale sent some friends and family a text the first week of July showing his swollen foot and bite marks.

"He was kind of having symptoms come and go with a lot of pain and he couldn't eat," Baum said.

A couple of weeks later he became very ill.

"He became very sick and was sick for about two weeks until he passed away," Baum said.

The black widow's bite is poisonous. The venom is a neurotoxin, but death from bites is rare.