Police: Charges Coming Against Python Owner in Florida Toddler's Strangling Death

[austin552]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529835,00.html

Charges will be brought against the owner of a pet python that strangled a 2-year-old Florida girl in her crib, killing her, police told FOXNews.com.

There was no immediate word on what charges will be filed, since authorities still are working on the specifics, a Sumter County Sheriffs source said.

Shaiunna Hare died early Wednesday morning after being attacked by the snake, which belonged to her mother's boyfriend and escaped from its aquarium, deputies said.

The little girl was killed by the 8-foot, 5-inch Burmese python as she slept after it got out of its tank in another room of the house, according to Sumter County Sheriff's Lt. Bobby Caruthers. The aquarium didn't have a lock as required by law, he told FOX News Thursday.

Jaren Ashley Hare, 21, and Shaiunna shared the central Florida home with Hare's boyfriend, 32-year-old Charles Jason Darnell, and his children.

Caruthers told FOX that Darnell may face charges for not having a permit for the python. Deputies say Darnell did not have the $100 permit required to own a python in Florida, which is a second-degree misdemeanor.

He also could be charged with child endangerment, child neglect or even manslaughter or homicide, according to Caruthers.

Darnell told investigators that he put the snake in a bag inside its aquarium Tuesday night. But when he woke up Wednesday morning, he said, the snake was gone. He found it wrapped around the girl in her crib.

Darnell stabbed the snake repeatedly to free the little girl, but the toddler already had been strangled. The snake also bit her on the head, the station reported.

He called 911 after he pried the python away from the child.

"The baby's dead!" a sobbing caller from the house screamed to a 911 dispatcher in tapes released by police. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby!"

[widebody911]

WTF would you want to own a python in the first place?

[dhoward]

Shaiunna ?

[vash]

Originally Posted by widebody911

WTF would you want to own a python in the first place?

they are super "cute" when tiny..trouble is, they are hardwired to grow fast to get out of that "tasty" zone for other creatures. i had a red-tailed boa that ate mice, and moved up to rats quickly. someone offered me lots of money for my tame beast and i jumped on the offer.

my friend had a retic python that was downright vicious. we bagged it in burlap, and tossed it in the freezer after it bit his daughter. about a 6 footer...i believe he sold the carcass to an asian restaurant for private consumption.

[URY914]

Did he own any lizards too?

I bet he had more tattoos than teeth.

[varmint]

i know people who keep snakes.

it's not a pet. it's a savage monster who's just biding it's time til it's big enough to kill you.

[GG Allin]

Since have my first kid (a daughter) eleven months ago, stories like this make me sick to my stomach.

[austin552]

"the STUPID snake killed my kid"

[Amail]

Originally Posted by varmint

i know people who keep snakes.

it's not a pet. it's a savage monster who's just biding it's time til it's big enough to kill you.

I had ribbon snakes when I was a kid. They'd grow to about 16" long and as big around as your dad's finger. They'd crawl around your neck and your hands and would make you giggle when it went down your collar. They'd eat goldfish, but would barf them back up if they swallowed them tail first.

Surely you meant "big nasty snakes" - try a little perspective on for size.

[varmint]

Originally Posted by Amail

I had ribbon snakes when I was a kid. They'd grow to about 16" long and as big around as your dad's finger. They'd crawl around your neck and your hands and would make you giggle when it went down your collar. They'd eat goldfish, but would barf them back up if they swallowed them tail first.

Surely you meant "big nasty snakes" - try a little perspective on for size.

yes, i am not saying that the garter snake in the terrarium is a danger. thought that sort f went without saying. i'm talking about big python type things.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by austin552

"the STUPID snake killed my kid"

That quote says so much, without saying much.

[URY914]

The snake was heard to say...."that STUPID dad let me kill his kid".

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by austin552

"the STUPID snake killed my kid"

The world is full of tards who are too stupid to raise a child.
Too bad the snake didn't strangle them instead.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by dhoward

Shaiunna ?

You noticed that too huh?

Not that I would stereotype people who make up ridiculous names for their litters.

[Rikao4]

ah Sam..
don't be so harsh..
she tried using birth control...
but those dam pills keep falling down..
as she tried to hold them between her knees...

as for 'Shaiunna' I do believe that's what Shanna sounds like..
after mommy has consumed a few bottles of Thunderbird...

Rika

[pwd72s]

The only python I have is bits of hide from one...decoration on my pool cue case. Far as I'm concerned, a good use for a python.

[Rick Lee]

I've owned a few from the Python family, one Burmese, one Retic and one Redtail Boa. I would never keep one with small kids in the house. They are cool pets, low maint., fabulous to watch eat and shed. As with many other hobbies, you have to be responsible about it. I never got bitten by any of my big snakes, but got tagged a few times by my first one, a CA King. Wasn't too bad. You should never own a snake you're not strong enough to totally defeat if you have to. I got my Boa as a hatchling in 1995 and gave her away just before I moved to AZ about 18 mos. ago. You can control how big they grow by feeding them as you see fit. They can go a year without eating. I used to feed mine two large rats about every 6-8 wks. so as to keep her from outgrowing my 75 gal. tank too quickly.

[KevinP73]

I've had Burmese Pythons( largest were over 12' 80lbs) in the past and they are fairly timid animals 'cept when it comes to dinner time. I've also been bit several times by them but they were just "warning shots" and not out for food strikes. They are very interesting animals with a lot of personality but you would have to be a moron to have them around babies or someone who isn't familiar with them and how to handle them.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

That is what pythons do.

Don't blame the python.

It's like the idiots that get pit bulls and other vicious "dawgs" as fashion accessories, don't care for them, don't pay to have them trained, then wonder why they bite neighborhood kids. The dog ends up getting a bullet in the head and a trip to the dump, the owner usually gets a $100 fine. Happens every day.

I'm convinced it's sheer luck that human beings are the "top" of the food chain. There are lots of animals out there far more intelligent than a lot of their human keepers.

[vash]

i never fed the reptiles in the main cage. i kept a huge rubbermaid bin to feed in. i never wanted the serpent to associate me simply opening the lid to "feeding time".

this story is sad.