OXFORD, FL -- A Sumter County couple has been charged with murder in the death of the woman's 2-year old daughter, who was strangled and killed by a pet snake in July.
The mother, 19-year-old Jaren Hare, turned herself in at the Wildwood Police Department Monday afternoon. Her boyfriend, 32-year-old Charles Darnell was already in jail on unrelated drug charges.
On July 1, Darnell woke up and discovered that the couple's 8 foot Burmese Python had escaped its glass cage and strangled Hare's daughter Shaiunna. Investigators say the cage had been left unlocked and that the snake had escaped once before during the night.
Darnell said that after the 1st escape he placed the snake in a bag, then put it back into a glass aquarium but failed to lock it. The next morning he found the snake on top of the little girl's bed. He stabbed it several times and eventually mananged to get it off her, he told investigators at the time.
Investigators learned Darnell didn't have a valid permit for the python.
There were several snake bites on the girl's body and she died of asphyxiation, according to the medical examiner.
The python, as well as a 6-foot boa constrictor, were removed from the house. Florida Fish and Wildlife officials say that kind of python can get as long as 24-feet and must be housed in permitted facilities.
Both Darnell and Hare are charged with third degree murder, manslaughter, and child abuse. Bond has been set at $35,000.
