Remember the 2yo killed by their pet python?.....

[Tammy]

Well....the parents were charged with murder (3rd degree). And....I think they should have been.

 

Here is the story:

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/state/epaper/2009/08/25/0825pythondeath.html

 

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[ChristusG]

The link does not take me to anywhere.

[lulubelle]

I got the link. It's awful!

[Tammy]

Baby-killing python case: Sumter County mom, boyfriend charged with murder, manslaughter

 

Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer

 

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

 

The mother of a 2-year-old Sumter County girl asphyxiated by a Burmese python and the woman's live-in boyfriend were charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the death, officials said Monday.

 

Jaren Ashley Hare, 19, and Charles Jason Darnell, 32, also face child-abuse counts, according to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. The charges come nearly two months after the July 1 the death of little Shaiunna Hare, who was killed by the snake in her crib.

 

 

The mother turned herself into the Wildwood Police Department Monday after a warrant was issued by the 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office. Darnell, who was already incarcerated at the Sumter County Jail on unrelated narcotics charges, was notified of the three new charges late Monday.

 

 

The attack in the rural community about 60 miles northwest of Orlando was believed to be the state's first case of a nonvenomous constrictor killing a child. Chief Assistant State Attorney Ric Ridgway said the manslaughter by culpable negligence charges reflect a "reckless disregard" that is criminal. The third-degree felony murder charge indicates "the death was not intended. You didn't set out to kill somebody, but it was the result of your behavior."

 

 

Individuals can be charged with both counts and go to trial on both counts, but if they're found guilty of both, the court would have to dismiss one of the charges and convict on the other, Ridgway said.

 

 

The murder and manslaughter counts carry maximum sentences of 15 years in prison; the child-abuse charge carries a five-year maximum.

 

 

Both were held on $35,000 bond each in connection with the charges, which stem from the escape of an albino Burmese python from a glass container inside the couple's home in Oxford. The snake was later found wrapped around the child's lifeless body.

 

 

Darnell, who was not Shaiunna's father, discovered the child that morning. Sobbing during a 911 call, he said, "The baby's dead! Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby!"

 

 

The 8 1/2-foot reptile had escaped its enclosure earlier. Darnell said he had put it inside a bag and placed it back into the glass tank. He also put a quilt over the container, tying down the ends. But the python escaped again and headed for the young child's crib.

 

 

State wildlife officials said the snake was not properly secured and not registered as required by state law. The python is considered a "reptile of concern."

 

 

During an interview with the Orlando Sentinel just about a month after the attack, Darnell said he and Hare were still grieving the death of the child. He called the snake attack a "terrible, awful accident."

 

 

"It's not guilt," Darnell said at the time. "It's remorse and grief. I'll never have another one [a snake]."

 

 

Darnell said the child's death - and the international publicity surrounding the case - made him a "monster" in the eyes of many. But he also said he had been around the reptiles much of his life.

 

 

"Some people are bird people. Some people are cat people. And some people are snake people," Darnell said during the interview.

 

 

The attack on the child was followed up by state and federal efforts to hunt Burmese pythons in and around the Everglades in South Florida, where the snakes have thrived, reproduced and become dominant predators of native wildlife.

 

 

Hare has since given birth to another baby fathered by Darnell.

 

 

For more information on this story, visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com

[BigMamaBird]

In my opinion, this is the just thing to do. But my heart hurts for this family. Such a senseless tragedy!

[SonshineLearner]

Can't predict everything. Children die each day; when parents make a decision that's stupid, I have to feel for them. I've made stupid mistakes. I'm not sure jail is for these parents; have you seen the foster care system? They made a bad judgment call, they are already suffering.

Carrie

[HollyinNNV]

This was a totally preventable and predictable situation. First, Burmese pythons are nocturnal. So, the fact that it got out at night is no surprise.

 

Here is the diet info on this species:

 

Like all snakes, Burmese Pythons are carnivorous. Their diet consists primarily of appropriately sized birds and mammals. The snake uses its sharp backward-pointing teeth to seize its prey, then wraps its body around the prey at the same time contracting its muscles, killing the prey by constriction. They are often found near human habitations due to the presence of rats, mice and other vermin as a food source. However, their equal affinity for domesticated birds and mammals means that they are often treated as a pest. In captivity their diet consists primarily of commercially available, appropriately sized rats, and moving up to larger items such as rabbits and poultry as they grow. Exceptionally large pythons may even require larger food items such as pigs or goats, and are known to have attacked alligators in Florida, where it is an invasive species. [8] Larger snakes often save energy by swallowing small, easily-managed prey animals live, without constricting them first. (Wikipedia)

[Elaine]

Can't predict everything. Children die each day; when parents make a decision that's stupid, I have to feel for them. I've made stupid mistakes. I'm not sure jail is for these parents; have you seen the foster care system? They made a bad judgment call, they are already suffering.

Carrie

 

I agree. They lost their child, that is the ultimate punishment. Fine them, maybe, but such heavy jail time? It's ridiculous.

[KingM]

3rd degree murder? Wow, that's harsh punishment for stupidity. Yes, the result was tragic and preventable, but how many children fall into the family pool and drown or are playing in the driveway when a family member backs over them. Also senseless and stupid, but they aren't usually charged with murder.

 

I'm thinking two things led to this charge. First, they sound like lower class people, as evidenced by the "unrelated drug charge." Second, it was a snake, which most people think of as a dangerous and frightening animal.

[lionfamily1999]

King M, I think poor (and possibly low class) had more to do with it. After all, if they could afford a good lawyer, we probably wouldn't have even read about the incident.

[PineFarmMom]

Wow. I don't agree with that level of punishment. It was a stupid mistake, but that just seems too harsh to me. It's always confusing to me the things that will be glazed over with hardly a hand slap and the things that seem to have an over-the-top penalty. :(

Edited August 30, 2009 by Texas T

[Mommyof4ks]

3rd degree murder? Wow, that's harsh punishment for stupidity. Yes, the result was tragic and preventable, but how many children fall into the family pool and drown or are playing in the driveway when a family member backs over them. Also senseless and stupid, but they aren't usually charged with murder.

 

I'm thinking two things led to this charge. First, they sound like lower class people, as evidenced by the "unrelated drug charge." Second, it was a snake, which most people think of as a dangerous and frightening animal.

 

:iagree: Snakes and pit bulls seem to make for harsh punishments, but trampolines and pools not so much. Murder seems harsh; they did not plan for that snake to kill their child.

[Laurie4b]

3rd degree murder? Wow, that's harsh punishment for stupidity. Yes, the result was tragic and preventable, but how many children fall into the family pool and drown or are playing in the driveway when a family member backs over them. Also senseless and stupid, but they aren't usually charged with murder.

 

I'm thinking two things led to this charge. First, they sound like lower class people, as evidenced by the "unrelated drug charge." Second, it was a snake, which most people think of as a dangerous and frightening animal.

 

You nailed it. 1)The man tried to take precautions but they were insufficient. The mother may have thought all was well. 2)Class matters. 3) If it had been a husky, no one would have been prosecuting this.

[Mrs Mungo]

3rd degree murder? Wow, that's harsh punishment for stupidity. Yes, the result was tragic and preventable, but how many children fall into the family pool and drown or are playing in the driveway when a family member backs over them. Also senseless and stupid, but they aren't usually charged with murder.

 

I'm thinking two things led to this charge. First, they sound like lower class people, as evidenced by the "unrelated drug charge." Second, it was a snake, which most people think of as a dangerous and frightening animal.

 

:iagree: