Python Strangles 2-Year-Old Central Florida Girl

Originally Posted by shrap

What is it with the "lets just lock them up" mentality that the people in this country have? Lets take some folks who probably dont have a true criminal bone in their body, throw them into prison for poor judgment and then watch them come out as REAL criminals.

The prison system should be used for violent offenders that are a threat to society. Putting honest hard working people into prison for unfortunate accidents, which we are doing by the thousands every year now in this country, is not the answer.

Well said.

I'll take it a step further and say that, based on what I managed to ascertain from the various articles, I haven't seen anything that would even warrant child endangerment charges or oversight.

It looks like reasonable, if ultimately ineffectual, steps were taken to secure the animal and that it managed to circumvent them. It just happened to be of a size sufficient to cause harm to a toddler.

I knew a couple a few years back, they had four kids (with a fifth on the way), good people, very responsible parents, very responsible reptile owners. There was an accident at a playground, one of their daughters lost a piece of her finger when it got caught and crushed inside some of the playground equipment. She was being supervised, she just managed to get her finger into a spot where it was crushable. This immediately caused them to be placed under the scrutiny of child protective services- ultimately that attention waned as there was nothing to support the intervention of the state, but their pets, their practices, every aspect of their lives got hit with an invasive microscope for over a year as a result.

Accidents. Tragic, terrible accidents... don't only follow incidents of neglect or endangerment. Sometimes unfortunate things simply happen. Punishing people for something that resulted from a brownian fluke seems unnecessarily punitive.

Nothing new here; I added pictures of the dead snake and the text of an article.

Police: Charges Expected Against Python Owner in Florida Toddler's Strangling Death
Thursday , July 02, 2009

Police are expected to bring charges against the owner of a pet python that strangled a 2-year-old Florida girl in her crib, killing her.

A Sumter County Sheriffs employee, who is not authorized to speak about the case, told FOXNews.com that charges are coming but wouldn't elaborate because investigators still are working on the specifics. The charges likely won't be filed on Thursday.

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 Sheriffs Lt. Bobby Caruthers.

An autopsy released Thursday determined that the child died by asphyxiation.

The aquarium didn't have a lock as required by law, Caruthers 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!"

Click to hear the 911 call.

Authorities did not identify the caller and removed the person's name from the recording.

"She got out of the cage last night and got into the baby's crib and strangled her to death," the caller says in the tape.

Click here for photos.

Paramedics said the little girl was dead when they arrived at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the house in Oxford, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando.

Two other children also were in the house at the time but were not hurt, according to WTVT.

The pet already had escaped once earlier that night, Caruthers told FOX News.

Authorities removed the snake Wednesday from the small house, bordered by cow pastures, after obtaining a search warrant. Once outside, the python was placed in a bag, which was put inside a dog crate. It was still alive.

Hare and Darnell were taken to the police station for questioning.

"They are very distraught," Caruthers told WTVT, adding that the two have been "very cooperative."


Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation spokeswoman Joy Hill said the snake will be placed with someone who has a permit, pending an investigation into the girl's death.

Hill said her department is unaware of a non-venomous snake ever before killing a human in Florida.

"This could be a first for the state," she told the station.

Burmese pythons are not native to Florida, but they easily survive in the state and can reach a length of 26 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds.

Some owners have freed pythons into the wild and a population of them has taken hold in the Everglades. One killed an alligator and then burst when it tried to eat it.

Scientists also speculate a bevy of Burmese pythons escaped in 1992 from pet shops battered by Hurricane Andrew and have been reproducing since.

"It's becoming more and more of a problem, perhaps no fault of the animal, more a fault of the human," said Jorge Pino, a state wildlife commission spokesman. "People purchase these animals when they're small. When they grow, they either can't control them or release them."

George Van Horn, owner of Reptile World Serpentarium in St. Cloud, said the strangulation could have occurred because the snake felt threatened or because it thought the child was food.

"They are always operating on instinct," he said. "Even the largest person can become overpowered by a python."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,...est=latestnews

Not exactly a 'giant' snake.

Originally Posted by Seamus Haley

If legislation rises from this, then we can rise to meet it and make sure it's reasonable, logical and appropriate. Until it does though... I for one am inclined to let a family grieve for their loss without kicking them in the face while they do it.

Seamus, finally! I was wondering when you'd show up to share your perspective. You were able to eloquently sum up my viewpoint with this statement in many fewer words than I did.

Sammy, when I wrote that remark about "jailing the stupidity out" of people, I was writing facetiously, not literally. I happen to believe that our criminal "justice" system is as woefully ineffective and flawed as our public schools, but that's another discussion. What I was attempting (poorly) to demonstrate is the point that, if we're going to be legislated, we might as well be instrumental in designing laws that protect us from abusive and unreasonable regulation as well as protecting the public from the perceived perils associated with reptile keeping. I also think it's a factor, and an important one, that lawmakers and the public see that we as a community are equally concerned about, and committed to, preventing this type of tragedy from occurring again. It might make them more willing to take our concerns and recommendations into account.

And Seamus, right on with your point about the family being allowed to grieve. So many parents are strung up and vilified when terrible accidents occur but you just know that no one can make them feel worse than they already do. I would think that having to spend the rest of your life knowing you caused a child's death (however indirectly or unintentionally) would be punishment enough.

Thats a shame. That poor baby died because of some dumbass that dont know anything about reptiles. He didnt have the permit??? the person that sold him the snake should of made sure the person had all permits before selling them a python. GRRR some people are just so freaking dumb.... i hope he rots in jail for this.

This really makes me mad reading this. i have 10 Burmese pythons all are 8ft to 15ft and i also have a 10 year old daughter and a 7 month old son and they both love my collection of snakes and every cage is locked and escape proof.

I have some thoughts on this subject. Unfortunately there are too many parents out there that overlook the possibility of injury to their children when choosing to own and house animals. The example that comes to mind has absolutely nothing to do with reptiles. Last year my husband and I were walking through our local humane society looking to adopt a puppy. While we were there a couple and their child were in the process of adopting a rather large mastiff mix. Within two minutes of "knowing" this dog they were allowing their small child to walk it on a leash. Needless to say the situation ended with the child being bit by a large nervous dog around strange people and in an unpleasant environment. I then heard the mother refer to the dog as a "monster" as they were strolling out the door. Not once did either parent stop to think of the huge mistake they had made by allowing a strange and powerful animal to have full access to their child. They were convinced the dog was the problem and not them. Now had they adopted the dog and properly acclimated the dog first to it's master(the adults), then to the home, and finally the child the situation very likely would have ended much differently.

As far as reptiles are concerned I personally feel that if you have children you have the responsibility to properly house the animals away from your children in cages that neither the animal can escape nor the child enter. In some cases that may mean a locked room. If someone isn't willing to take the proper precautions then they should not own the animal and I must question their right to procreate as well.

As adults we have the never ending task of keeping all things we are responsible for safe including our pets. It's simple logic that unfortunately in this case caused a horrible tragedy. I feel for the parents and their loss and hope that they fall into the percentage of people who would know that this tragedy was their fault and their fault alone and do not attempt to place blame on a "dangerous" animal that outsmarted everyone and was out for blood. The snake followed it's instincts and the adults seem to have ignored theirs. I do not believe criminal charges are necessary as I think for at least the mother the punishment will never end and no jail sentence would really matter.

Craig's list post in my area:

friend houston craigslist > pets
please flag with care:

miscategorized
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best of craigslist
SNAKE KILLS 2 year old! (everywhere)
Reply to: see below
Date: 2009-07-03, 10:24AM CDT


When are people going to stop keeping snakes as pets!!!???? It is difficult at best to domesticate reptiles because they share very little DNA with mammals. GET RID OF YOUR STUPID SNAKES and put them back in the food chain where they belong. AND PLEASE STOP PUTTING THEM ON CL with real pets!

* Location: everywhere
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests



PostingID: 1251870818

Here is the link:
http://houston.craigslist.org/pet/1251870818.html

Yes, the parent & boyfriend are going to live with the guilt forever, big whip. The 2 yr old is dead forever.

It is my belief that even if the snake never left it's enclosure the mere fact that there wasn't a child proof lock on it's enclosure is child endangerment.

You put little plastic thingies in electrical outlets, move toxic cleaners out of reach but you don't lock an 8 ft+ snake cage?! A bag is enough? Come on, now.

I don't care about the permit or even the law itself honestly, I care that these people didn't care enough to take the proper steps to ensure the basic safety of a toddler.
Because of their negligent husbandry and parenting practices the girl is dead, the snake is probably going to be put down, and once again my hobby is under negative scrutiny.

As I said before education for all and jail for the morons. Is jail going to fix the problem? Nope, but at least it takes them out of the breeding pool for awhile. Is the jail system itself hopelessly flawed? Yup, got a better solution that has a snowballs chance in the Bahamas chance of being implemented? I'd like to hear it.

As for social services, I lost my first colombian boa when my daughter was three. Despite the fact that the worker couldn't even move the cage from the wall to get to the door, despite the fact that the worker couldn't get the locks off, and despite the fact that all the slide bolts where also latched.
All because the potential was supposedly there. Because people like these can't put a simple lock on an enclosure, cause the death of small children and feed the paranoia.

I have no sympathy for the mother or boyfriend. None.
The rest of the family my heart goes out to & words can not express how sad and angry I am that that the girl's life was cut off so short through absolutely no fault of her own.

hmm...the snake in that picture is not as big as i had thought it would be when i first read about this

anywho

that CL post made my stomach turn

this is such a sad story...for the poor girl...the family that has to suffer from such an event...the poor snake that didnt even know it was doing anything wrong/bad...and for this hobby, that will surely get some heat from this in the end

*sigh*
no matter what numbers anyone gives trying to explain how rare exotic pets killing people really is....the simple fear from the masses will always seem louder then the statistics

which is the exact reason people will pay more attention to a story like this and not the hundreds of car related deaths in each city alone....lets ban exotic pets and save 12 people in almost 30 years....but lets ignore all the horrible drivers that risk lives every day.

something so rarely witnessed is going to get more attention then something society has accepted as a daily reality

especially when its highly misunderstood and feared

he obvioulsy didnt have it locked up what an idiot poor baby gets killed due to parental ignorance