A trainer endured a horrific death as a SeaWorld orca crushed him and ‘violently played with his body.’

Keto, the killer whale, was born in 1995 and spent the entirety of his life in captivity.

Keto was born in captivity and spent his entire life performing for crowds at marine parks, eventually moving to Loro Parque in Tenerife. On Christmas Eve 2009, the orca was working with experienced trainer Alexis Martínez, 29, during preparations for a Christmas show. Martínez had reportedly told his girlfriend that his job was dangerous and that he feared something could happen.

During the training session, Keto began behaving differently, failing to perform several movements while remaining near the surface. When Martínez entered the water, Keto reportedly pushed him toward the bottom of the pool with his rostrum. Trainers attempted various signals to regain control, but the orca repeatedly returned to Martínez. Witnesses later described Keto as pushing and violently handling the trainer in the water.

Martínez was eventually recovered from the pool and rushed for medical attention, but he had suffered devastating injuries. His post-mortem attributed his death to severe injuries sustained during the orca attack, including multiple fractures, internal injuries and bite marks. The incident shocked the marine-park community and raised renewed questions about the risks of keeping powerful orcas in captivity.

Keto later died in 2024 after spending his entire life in captivity. Months after Martínez’s death, another SeaWorld trainer, Dawn Brancheau, was killed by the orca Tilikum. Despite these tragedies, the source notes that orcas are not generally considered a threat to humans in the wild, with no documented cases of an orca intentionally killing a human in the wild. The incidents involving captive orcas remain a very different and highly debated context.