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Shaiunna Hare, 2 Years Old, Strangled by Pet Python
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by cyn.khoo | July 1, 2009 at 03:54 pm
1840 views | 3 Recommendations | 2 comments
Shaiunna Hare, a 2-year-old girl in Florida, was strangled in her bed by a more than 8-feet long Burmese python. The pet python belonged to her mother's boyfriend, Charles Jason Darnell, who tried to save the girl by stabbing the snake until he could pry her away.
Darnell had discovered the snake's empty terrarium during the night and found Shaiunna in her bedroom, with the snake around and on her and bite marks on her head.
By the time paramedics arrived, Shaiunna had already died.
"The baby's dead!" a sobbing caller from the house screamed to a 911 dispatcher in a recording. "Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby."
The python, for which Darnell had no permit, survived and was removed by authorities to be placed with someone who has a permit. Though Darnell has not been charged, officials are investigating for any possibility of child neglect or other illegal activities.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, at least 12 people have been killed by pet pythons since 1980 in the US. The problem is growing as owners free pythons into the wild and a possible brood escaped from a pet shop during Hurricane Andrew in 1992 may have been breeding since then.
"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."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 09:54 on July 2nd, 2009
It's not the snake that's "stupid" -- is it -- when a snake (for which there is no permit) escapes and strangles a child. Dumb-ass parents. Wny anyone would have a Burmese python as a "pet" is beyond me, anyway. People get tired of the damned, things, and then set them loose in the Everglades to wreak havoc on the wildlife. They should be illegal here in the States. And the father of the child -- and his babymama ought to be prosecuted for flauting the law and for child endangerment.
at 10:18 on July 2nd, 2009
Right on, Deecee! I think the parents, who are responsible for the child, are at fault(as well as devastated)...It's a crazy thing to keep a python as a pet-that is why they require a permit, dumbass.