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Herps In The News Local or national articles where reptiles or amphibians have made it into the news media. Please cite sources.

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Old 07-04-2009, 05:27 AM   #31
capt._howdy
all i can say is that a child is lost due to people not being educated enough to keep a snake thats going to get 8+ feet i dont feel jail is a sentence that is suited for this sad accident but i do feel the parents should never be aloud to own a snake again after this granted i dont think they ever will want one
 
Old 07-04-2009, 06:46 PM   #32
crotalusadamanteus
People need to wake up. When was the last time you saw a constrictor constrict something that it didn't intend to eat? And what about that snake makes anyone here think, that the snake figured it could even fit the child down? ???


I know snakes are snakes, wild and instinctive by nature. It's that same instinct that makes me believe the snake is a scape goat for some other heinous activity. It just ain't natural for an 8 ft snake to think it could choke down something as large as a 2 yr old toddler.
 
Old 07-04-2009, 06:52 PM   #33
crotalusadamanteus
Meant to add, any who feel the same, you may want to voice that opinion. It may lead to a deeper investigation, revealing more info, or sealing the first autopsy report.

Here's the one to call...

Lt. Bobby Caruthers
http://www.sumtercountysheriff.org/phonedirectory.asp

Lieutenant Bobby Caruthers
Supervisor School Resource Unit
(352) 793-0222 ext. 2661


It was voiced also that the owner of this python was just arrested in May for possession charges, with the intent to distribute, cocaine and methamphetamine. Anyone out there who can verify this????
 
Old 07-04-2009, 06:57 PM   #34
Seamus Haley
Quote:
Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus View Post
People need to wake up. When was the last time you saw a constrictor constrict something that it didn't intend to eat? And what about that snake makes anyone here think, that the snake figured it could even fit the child down? ???


I know snakes are snakes, wild and instinctive by nature. It's that same instinct that makes me believe the snake is a scape goat for some other heinous activity. It just ain't natural for an 8 ft snake to think it could choke down something as large as a 2 yr old toddler.
That's an interesting idea to ponder. Constriction will sometimes occur with defensive bites, although burms aren't real inclined to do that too often, they usually bite and release rather than bite and wrap- unless they intend to eat it.

I was a little irritated to see that the autopsy apparently decided the cause of death was asphyxiation, since that's really not how or why constriction causes death; it's got a lot more to do with restricted blood flow and building and unbalanced blood pressure- the restriction of lung expansion is really secondary.

Although I'd also guess that a qualified medical examiner would probably have some insight into things like that. They may not be experts on the details of the predatory strategies of snakes, but you'd figure they'd look for bruising where the wraps were and verify the bite marks found on the child's head.
 
Old 07-04-2009, 09:02 PM   #35
skinwrappedbox
[quote=Seamus Haley;732409]I was a little irritated to see that the autopsy apparently decided the cause of death was asphyxiation, since that's really not how or why constriction causes death; it's got a lot more to do with restricted blood flow and building and unbalanced blood pressure- the restriction of lung expansion is really secondary.
QUOTE]

True, but the snake could have gotten itsself around the child's neck. I think declaring asphyxiation without an autopsy is premature- but it still could be the cause of death.
 
Old 07-08-2009, 06:46 PM   #36
crotalusadamanteus
The autopsy was released the next morning I think it was. One word...asphyxiation. They didn't mention anything else besides bite mark on the head.

As Seamus pointed out, if the burm squeezed her neck, there would likely be bruising. At minimum some sub surface hemorrhaging from the force of the constriction.

I just still have my doubts.
 
Old 08-04-2009, 06:43 AM   #37
wcreptiles
Killer python owner: 'It was a terrible, awful accident'

This snake had escaped the night before; this tragedy was caused by an irresponsible owner and his piece of crap cage.

Quote:
----------
"She had got out the night before," he said, referring to the hours before the attack. "I woke up, went to the bathroom and found her in the hallway. That's when I put her in the laundry bag and put her back in the tank."

Darnell said he pulled a quilt down tight over the top of the tank and then used safety pins and bungee cords to secure the top. "I don't know how she got out," he said.
------------

Quote:

OrlandoSentinel.com
FIRST ON ORLANDOSENTINEL.COM
Killer python owner: 'It was a terrible, awful accident'

In his first interview with the Orlando Sentinel, Charles Darnell said he has been stricken by grief in the month since the family's pet Burmese python suffocated his girlfriend's 2-year-daughter in her crib in a rural community about 60 miles northwest of Orlando.
Anthony Colarossi

Sentinel Staff Writer

6:41 PM EDT, July 31, 2009

Almost a month ago, a pet Burmese python escaped from its enclosure in a rural Sumter County home and suffocated 2-year-old Shaiunna Hare as she slept in her crib.

The attack made international headlines and became a convenient tragedy for politicians and bureaucrats to use as they called for organized hunts of wild Burmese.

But for Charles Darnell and his girlfriend Jaren A. Hare, the loss was indescribable.

The last month left them mourning a child they loved, questioning themselves for becoming so trusting of the snake and worrying if criminal charges will come.

Darnell, 32, spoke Friday in his first interview with the Orlando Sentinel.

He said the child's death has altered his life forever and made him a "monster" in the eyes of many around the world and in his tiny town Oxford, 60 miles northwest of Orlando.

"It was an accident. It was a terrible, awful accident," said Darnell, vacillating between shouts and sobs.

"It's not guilt," Darnell said of the way he feels today. "It's remorse and grief. I'll never have another one [a snake]."

His comments came a day after prosecutors said they needed more time to investigate the case to determine if Darnell or Hare ought to face criminal charges.

Darnell does not claim to be a snake expert, but he said he has been around the reptiles much of his life.

He cannot describe the attraction to boa constrictors and Burmese, except to say, "Some people are bird people. Some people are cat people. And some people are snake people."

The Burmese suspected in the child's death became a pet about nine years ago.

And Darnell said he took good care of the animal, but also said he thought the 8 1/2-foot female was instinctively moving around when it escaped because it was reaching its sexual maturity.

And he suspects that is why the snake was so determined to escape its 150-gallon aquarium.

"She had got out the night before," he said, referring to the hours before the attack. "I woke up, went to the bathroom and found her in the hallway. That's when I put her in the laundry bag and put her back in the tank."

Darnell said he pulled a quilt down tight over the top of the tank and then used safety pins and bungee cords to secure the top. "I don't know how she got out," he said.

Snake experts such as Andrew Wyatt, president of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers, question Darnell's story, particularly the part about the snake reaching sexual maturity.

A Burmese that old weighing 12.3 pounds had to be "emaciated," he said.

"That animal was not sexually mature. That animal was undernourished,'' Wyatt said.

In any case, Darnell acknowledges it was a "mistake" for them not to be afraid enough of the snake, although he said he always took "extra precautions" with the Burmese, especially when children were nearby.

He also supports the ongoing state and federal efforts to capture and euthanize wild Burmese in South Florida because the top predators threaten native wildlife there and reproduce so successfully.

"I've said for a long time that they need to get them out of there," he said.

As for pet behavior, Darnell said: "Any animal at any time can turn on you for any reason."

Darnell said it has been difficult for him to do simple things in public, like grocery shopping, because of all the notoriety surrounding the case.

State wildlife officials said the snake's owner could face a second-class-misdemeanor charge because no one held a license for the python.

The misdemeanor charge could be punishable up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

On Friday Darnell said, "The snakes were bought back in 2000 when the laws and permits did not exist."

The Burmese pythons were not regulated for permitting back then. But Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said as of Jan. 1, 2008, Burmese python owners had six months to get the required permitting and microchips for the snakes.

While the case involves prosecutors and wildlife officials, the state Department of Children and Families also continues to investigate allegations of inadequate supervision and maltreatment in the death of the child and threatened harm and inadequate supervision involving two other children in the home when the attack occurred.

"This agency was contacted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of" the girl, DCF spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said in a statement.

"The current investigation is primarily focused on her death. It expands to include whether or not the other children, who were in the home that night, were also placed in any harms way; intentional or not."

Darnell said the DCF involvement has added stress and hassle in the aftermath of the tragedy.

"They've been harassing me," he said. "We lost our child and now we're dealing with that."

The inquiries come at a sensitive time. A girl is dead. Hare is expected to give birth to Darnell's child very soon. And Darnell still struggles with the death of his son due to an illness several years ago.

Shortly before the July 1 incident, DCF had investigated Darnell for neglect of a child and child abuse. That case involved alleged drug use and dealing, but it was ultimately unfounded.

DCF did not find enough risk to take children from the home.

Darnell said the caseworker who initially investigated the unfounded case commented on the snakes.

"He was impressed by how well the snakes were kept," he said. "He talked about the snakes to us. He thought it was neat that we had them and kept them."

Darnell said the original DCF case was prompted by an upset relative who made false claims, but now he worries that the new probe could affect his relationship with Hare and their unborn child.

He has experienced terrible loss before.

His young son died in 2003 due to a rare disease. He spent days in the hospital with the boy, who was almost 3.

And today Darnell can't help but remember that experience when he thinks of the morning one month ago when he found the Burmese wrapped around young Shaiunna.

"How do you deal with losing a child? I don't wish that on anybody," he said. "You don't deal with it, man. You don't deal with it. You grieve, but you never get over losing a child. When your child dies it take a piece of you, too."

Copyright © 2009, Orlando Sentinel
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,3498768.story
 
Old 08-04-2009, 07:05 AM   #38
crotalusadamanteus
Didn't the 911 call say that he found the snake "on top" of the girl? Now I gotta search for it. I'm pretty sure it did. Now it's the hallway? Did this actually get by the investigators?
 
Old 08-04-2009, 07:08 AM   #39
crotalusadamanteus
Thought so.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sto...7986040&page=1


"Basically, the snake was put away last night in an aquarium in a bag," Caruthers said Thursday. "[He] woke up this morning and discovered the snake was missing, ran into the infant's bedroom and saw the snake on top of the child."
 
Old 08-04-2009, 07:16 AM   #40
Art Klass
Quote:
Originally Posted by crotalusadamanteus View Post
Didn't the 911 call say that he found the snake "on top" of the girl? Now I gotta search for it. I'm pretty sure it did. Now it's the hallway? Did this actually get by the investigators?
I think the burm got out twice. He found it in the hallway and then put it in the bag, in the tank. It got out again, however.....

He's clearly an idiot.
 

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