Pet Python kills girlfriends sleeping 2 year old daughter

[ScottThuy 140]

A 2-year-old girl was strangled by an albino Burmese python more than 8-feet long early this morning in this rural community just west of The Villages, according to authorities.

Officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it's likely this may be the state's first case of a non-venomous constrictor snake causing a death.

Moments ago, Sumter County Sheriff and state wildlife officials captured the python inside the home and placed it inside a bag. It's not known whether the snake will be euthanized. The python had a bloody gouge about a foot from the tip of its nose, where it was stabbed by its owner Charles Darnell.

Lt. Bobby Caruthers of Sumter County Sheriff's Office said the python was a family pet that apparently broke free from inside a glass aquarium in the home's living room. The snake then made its way into the girl's bedroom and apparently strangled her in the middle of the night, according to authorities. The girl was identified as Shaiunna Hare. The home is off County Road 466, tucked in the middle of pastureland.

Darnell, 32, found the snake - about 8.5 feet long - on top of the 2-year-old this morning after he noticed the snake was missing from the aquarium. He then started stabbing the reptile. Family members called 911 at 9:43 a.m. The child was dead when emergency crews arrived at 10 a.m. She had a bite mark on her head, authorities said.

"It's a tragedy," Caruthers said.

Authorities said Darnell is the boyfriend of the girl's mother, Jaren A. Hare, 23. However, Darnell is not the girl's father.

Darnell is now being questioned by Sumter Sheriff's investigators and may face child endangerment charges. State wildlife officials said Darnell likely faces a second-class misdemeanor charge because he did not have a permit for the python. The misdemeanor charge could be punishable up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Caruthers said the Burmese python slithered away after being stabbed by Darnell and had been missing for several hours.

Darnell also had a 6-foot boa constrictor in the home, but that was in a secure container, authorities said. Sheriff and state wildlife officials used a search warrant to enter the home and find the python. Darnell is cooperating with investigators and the search warrant was a matter of procedure, Caruthers said.

Two other young children also live in the home, according to authorities.

Darnell told investigators that he put the python inside a bag Tuesday night and then placed the bag inside the aquarium.

Wildlife officers said that's a common way of housing large pythons, but could not say whether that was done in this case.

"Usually you tie off the bag and you put something on top of the enclosure," said Joy Hill of FWC.

Hill said Burmese pythons can grow to more than 20 feet.

George Van Horn, owner of Reptile World Serpentarium in St. Cloud, called it "extremely rare" for a python to attack a child.

"But you can never predict what a wild animal will do," he said. "Things can go great 999 out of a 1,000 times, but there can be that one time."

Large snakes, such as pythons, are typically very docile, therefore "people can look at them as being like any other animal, and as being very affectionate," he said. "But they're always operating on instinct."

Van Horn said the Oxford python probably had a "feeding response."

Nick Atwood, a campaign coordinator with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, said keeping wild exotic animals as pets can present several problems - including public safety and harming the natural environment if they are released into the wild.

The organization supports a ban on the sale of these kinds of animals, Atwood said.

"They're aren't supposed to be in Florida and can have negative impacts on Florida's wildlife and natural environment," he said. "People soon realize that it's very, very difficult to properly maintain and care for these animals...Unfortunately, some pet stores do not provide information about how much they can grow."

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., introduced a bill in February that would ban the import of all pythons into the United States, said Nelson's spokesman Bryan Gulley.

The bill came as a response to the increasing number of pythons being let loose in the Everglades and appearing in places around Florida such as the Florida Keys. The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a hearing could be held on the issue.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...story?track=rss

[Nagishkaw 510]

0MG that's horrible!

[ScottThuy 140]

0MG that's horrible!

Can you imagine if the mother woke up before the boyfriend?

[karimcharleen 0]

A 2-year-old girl was strangled by an albino Burmese python more than 8-feet long early this morning in this rural community just west of The Villages, according to authorities.

Officials with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it's likely this may be the state's first case of a non-venomous constrictor snake causing a death.

Moments ago, Sumter County Sheriff and state wildlife officials captured the python inside the home and placed it inside a bag. It's not known whether the snake will be euthanized. The python had a bloody gouge about a foot from the tip of its nose, where it was stabbed by its owner Charles Darnell.

Lt. Bobby Caruthers of Sumter County Sheriff's Office said the python was a family pet that apparently broke free from inside a glass aquarium in the home's living room. The snake then made its way into the girl's bedroom and apparently strangled her in the middle of the night, according to authorities. The girl was identified as Shaiunna Hare. The home is off County Road 466, tucked in the middle of pastureland.

Darnell, 32, found the snake - about 8.5 feet long - on top of the 2-year-old this morning after he noticed the snake was missing from the aquarium. He then started stabbing the reptile. Family members called 911 at 9:43 a.m. The child was dead when emergency crews arrived at 10 a.m. She had a bite mark on her head, authorities said.

"It's a tragedy," Caruthers said.

Authorities said Darnell is the boyfriend of the girl's mother, Jaren A. Hare, 23. However, Darnell is not the girl's father.

Darnell is now being questioned by Sumter Sheriff's investigators and may face child endangerment charges. State wildlife officials said Darnell likely faces a second-class misdemeanor charge because he did not have a permit for the python. The misdemeanor charge could be punishable up to a $500 fine and 60 days in jail.

Caruthers said the Burmese python slithered away after being stabbed by Darnell and had been missing for several hours.

Darnell also had a 6-foot boa constrictor in the home, but that was in a secure container, authorities said. Sheriff and state wildlife officials used a search warrant to enter the home and find the python. Darnell is cooperating with investigators and the search warrant was a matter of procedure, Caruthers said.

Two other young children also live in the home, according to authorities.

Darnell told investigators that he put the python inside a bag Tuesday night and then placed the bag inside the aquarium.

Wildlife officers said that's a common way of housing large pythons, but could not say whether that was done in this case.

"Usually you tie off the bag and you put something on top of the enclosure," said Joy Hill of FWC.

Hill said Burmese pythons can grow to more than 20 feet.

George Van Horn, owner of Reptile World Serpentarium in St. Cloud, called it "extremely rare" for a python to attack a child.

"But you can never predict what a wild animal will do," he said. "Things can go great 999 out of a 1,000 times, but there can be that one time."

Large snakes, such as pythons, are typically very docile, therefore "people can look at them as being like any other animal, and as being very affectionate," he said. "But they're always operating on instinct."

Van Horn said the Oxford python probably had a "feeding response."

Nick Atwood, a campaign coordinator with the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, said keeping wild exotic animals as pets can present several problems - including public safety and harming the natural environment if they are released into the wild.

The organization supports a ban on the sale of these kinds of animals, Atwood said.

"They're aren't supposed to be in Florida and can have negative impacts on Florida's wildlife and natural environment," he said. "People soon realize that it's very, very difficult to properly maintain and care for these animals...Unfortunately, some pet stores do not provide information about how much they can grow."

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., introduced a bill in February that would ban the import of all pythons into the United States, said Nelson's spokesman Bryan Gulley.

The bill came as a response to the increasing number of pythons being let loose in the Everglades and appearing in places around Florida such as the Florida Keys. The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and a hearing could be held on the issue.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...story?track=rss

this is so sad, the poor girl, and her family flower for the girl

[NArocks 13]

Holy cow what a sad sad story

[ScottThuy 140]

What does everyone think should happen to the boyfriend that did not secure the snake well enough?