ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orange County Sheriff's Office has released more than 50 pages of witness statements in the death of a SeaWorld whale trainer.

Dawn Brancheau died Wednesday in Florida after rubbing a 22-foot, 12,000-pound orca named Tilikum. The animal grabbed her ponytail and pulled her into the water in front of about 20 spectators.

Senior trainer Valerie Greene painted a picture of the death of her fellow trainer that had not yet been told.

"I could see a woman's ponytail in the whale's mouth. He eventually went over and we got the net over him and we were able to get the body out of his mouth," Greene said.

Joshua Excell, another witness, also said the woman was in the whale's body.

"I was first notified by my employees that there was a trainer in the pool. I ran out and saw the whale swimming...many times when he came up to the top I saw the body hanging out of his mouth," Excell said.

"I watched for what seemed like 10 minutes as the entire crew attempted to deploy nets. All the while the whale was frantic and periodically I could see the trainer. Eventually, they trapped both the whale and trainer in a smaller pool and shut the gate," witness Mark Burner said.

Brancheau, 40, had been training whales at SeaWorld's Orlando park for 16 years.

The medical examiner said Brancheau likely died of traumatic injuries and drowning.

Brancheau's funeral took place Monday at a church on Chicago's South Side.

Services were held at St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel. Family and friends lined up for Brancheau's wake on Sunday at the Chicago church.

The Rev. Thoman McCarthy said Brancheau is being remembered for the "light" she gave to her work, family, friends and faith.

Her funeral featured inspirational songs, music singer Terri Lenz was chosen to fit Brancheau and her fun-loving personality.

After the funeral, Brancheau was buried in a suburban Chicago cemetery.

Tilikum is the only killer whale in the SeaWorld chain for which the park has special rules. The 22-foot, 12,000-pound male was involved in two earlier deaths at SeaWorld and a park in British Columbia.

SeaWorld suspended killer whale shows in all three of its parks after the attack. Shows resumed on Saturday, but trainers will not be allowed in the water with the whales until a safety review is completed and new precautions are implemented.