The Sumter County’s Sheriff’s Office says that Jaren Ashley Hare, 19, and her boyfriend, Charles Jason Darnell, have both been charged with manslaughter, third degree murder and child abuse.
Hare’s daughter, Shaianna Hare, two-years-old, was killed on July 1st when an 8th foot unlicensed python kept at the family home escaped, got into the tot’s crib and suffocated her. Darnell reported that when he saw the python around the child’s neck, he stabbed it several times, trying to get it loose.
Hare and Darnell are each being held on $35,000 bond.
Meanwhile, Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist has called for immediate action to be undertaken to halt and reverse the spread of pythons in Florida, which are not uncommon. It is not known how many pythons live in South Florida, but officials estimate that that number could be in the thousands, with many living in the Everglades.
Scientists have seen an explosion in the numbers of Burmese pythons in South Florida over the past decade, as part of the international pet trade. It is believed that many may have escaped on account of the destruction of pet shops in the wake of Hurricane Andrew and also some deliberately dumped in the forest when owners perceived that the snakes were not so cute anymore.
