07-01-2009, 03:35 PM
Python kills Sumter
County child
Updated: Wednesday, 01 Jul 2009, 2:29 PM EDT
OXFORD - A 12-foot Burmese python slithered from its pen and killed a toddler in Sumter County this morning, an encounter so unusual that experts figure it is tragic a first for Florida.
According to deputies, Jaren Ashley Hare, 23, and her 2-year-old daughter Shaiunna shared the home on County Road 466 with Jaren's boyfriend, Charles Jason Darnell.
Darnell, 32, told investigators that he put the pet snake in a bag inside its aquarium last night. But when he woke up around 10 this morning, the snake was gone. He rushed to Shaiunna's room and found it was "on" the child.
Investigators said Darnell repeatedly stabbed the six-inch diameter snake to free the child. After knifing the python, he then called 911 for help.
First responders found Shaiunna dead, and said the toddler had been bitten on the head. The girl's body was removed from the home just after noon.
The medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy to determine exactly what killed the child, sheriff's office spokesman Bobby Caruthers said.
Darnell and Hare have been taken to the sheriff's office for questioning.
"They are very distraught," Caruthers said, noting that the two are also "very cooperative" in helping deputies investigate the child's death.
Darnell told deputies that two other children were in the home when the attack occurred. They were unharmed, investigators said.
It is still unclear how the python escaped. Investigators said it had been placed in a bag, which is typical when transporting snakes, and then in an aquarium with a lid.
Caruthers said investigators are now awaiting a search warrant to enter the home, a rental. They hope to retrieve the snake, which was last seen underneath a dresser in the girl's room. It is not clear whether the python is still alive.
Florida Wildlife Commission spokesperson Judy Hill said Darnell did not have a required $100 state permit for the snake, which could lead to a second-degree misdemeanor charge. Florida considers Burmese Pythons a "reptile of concern."
Hill said her department is unaware of a non-venomous snake killing a human in Florida.
"This could be a first for the state," she said.
If the snake is still alive, Hill said it will be seized and taken to a licensed handler until the courts decide what to do with it. If it is dead, the reptile will be held as evidence.
County child
Updated: Wednesday, 01 Jul 2009, 2:29 PM EDT
OXFORD - A 12-foot Burmese python slithered from its pen and killed a toddler in Sumter County this morning, an encounter so unusual that experts figure it is tragic a first for Florida.
According to deputies, Jaren Ashley Hare, 23, and her 2-year-old daughter Shaiunna shared the home on County Road 466 with Jaren's boyfriend, Charles Jason Darnell.
Darnell, 32, told investigators that he put the pet snake in a bag inside its aquarium last night. But when he woke up around 10 this morning, the snake was gone. He rushed to Shaiunna's room and found it was "on" the child.
Investigators said Darnell repeatedly stabbed the six-inch diameter snake to free the child. After knifing the python, he then called 911 for help.
First responders found Shaiunna dead, and said the toddler had been bitten on the head. The girl's body was removed from the home just after noon.
The medical examiner's office will perform an autopsy to determine exactly what killed the child, sheriff's office spokesman Bobby Caruthers said.
Darnell and Hare have been taken to the sheriff's office for questioning.
"They are very distraught," Caruthers said, noting that the two are also "very cooperative" in helping deputies investigate the child's death.
Darnell told deputies that two other children were in the home when the attack occurred. They were unharmed, investigators said.
It is still unclear how the python escaped. Investigators said it had been placed in a bag, which is typical when transporting snakes, and then in an aquarium with a lid.
Caruthers said investigators are now awaiting a search warrant to enter the home, a rental. They hope to retrieve the snake, which was last seen underneath a dresser in the girl's room. It is not clear whether the python is still alive.
Florida Wildlife Commission spokesperson Judy Hill said Darnell did not have a required $100 state permit for the snake, which could lead to a second-degree misdemeanor charge. Florida considers Burmese Pythons a "reptile of concern."
Hill said her department is unaware of a non-venomous snake killing a human in Florida.
"This could be a first for the state," she said.
If the snake is still alive, Hill said it will be seized and taken to a licensed handler until the courts decide what to do with it. If it is dead, the reptile will be held as evidence.
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