A Florida Couple Was Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison After Their Pet Python Strangled Their Infant Daughter
RedditJaren Hare, 21, and Charles Darnell, 34, after paramedics arrived at their home.
In 2009, Jaren Hare and Charles Darnell were living together with Hare’s 2-year-old daughter and the family’s pet: a severely underweight Burmese python named Gypsy who lived in a cage over which a quilt was thrown as a lid.
Per ABC News, Gypsy should have weighed around 150 pounds. At the time, the nine-foot-long albino snake weighed 13 pounds — and hadn’t been fed for a month.
During Hare and Darnell’s trial, a medical examiner testified that Gypsy was trying to eat their daughter, Shaianna, when it strangled her. Officially, they were charged with third degree murder, manslaughter, and child neglect.
Despite the defense’s arguments that the incident was an unfortunate, terrible mistake, it was clear to the jury that the situation only happened because Hare and Darnell were careless as both pet owners and parents.
Adobe StockDespite their massive size, Burmese pythons are considered docile compared to other snakes.
In fact, Hare’s mother even testified against her in court, saying that she had not only warned her daughter about the dangers of owning the snake but also offered to buy it and keep it at her home in a locked enclosure.
Hare’s attorney, meanwhile, argued that the snake had been a family pet for five years and was always docile before the incident. They argued that the situation would be different if the snake had been venomous, but since Gypsy was “gentle,” Hare and Darnell weren’t to blame for Shaianna’s death.
Darnell’s attorney argued that the only thing the couple was guilty of was having a “stupid pet.”
“The snake is not at fault in this case. It’s a wild animal,” Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino told the jury. “The responsibility for the death of that child is those defendants right there.”
And as terrifying as stories like this can be, Magrino’s argument highlights the most important factor: These are wild animals.
Sometimes, they just don’t belong in your home.
Next, learn about the most dangerous animals on planet Earth. Then, read about animals who fought back against poachers and left them dead.
