WARNING – DISTRESSING CONTENT A 2-year-old baby girl was strangled to death in her crib by an 8ft 6in ‘hungry’ pet python trying to eat her. The snake belonged to the child’s mother and her live-in boyfriend.
In a horrific tragedy, a two-year-old girl was strangled to death in her crib by a Burmese python which belonged to her mother and her mother’s live-in boyfriend.
Shaiunna Hare was killed by ‘Gypsy’, the 8-foot 6-inch albino Burmese python owned by her mum Jaren Ashley Hare, and her mum’s partner, Charles Jason Darnell.
Jaren was 19 at the time of her daughter’s death in July 2009, while Charles was 32, and they all resided in the town of Bushnell in central Florida, USA. Charles’ two children, aged 12 and seven, also lived in the single-story house with them.
The five-year-old Burmese python Gypsy crushed Shaiunna to death, with the cause of death being logged as asphyxiation. According tothe Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, on the fateful day in July 2009, Charles found the 8ft 6in snake wrapped around Shaiunna’s head and body after the reptile had escaped the unsecured 200-gallon aquarium that had nothing but a quilt for a lid, while the couple slept at night.
The medical examiner found snake bites on the two-year-old’s head and arms, with the autopsy showing one bite on Shaiunna’s upper right arm, one on her upper left arm, and a third bite on her forehead.
According to a medical examiner who testified during the trial, the albino snake was severely underfed and underweight, weighing just 13 pounds, when a healthy reptile that size should’ve weighed around 150 pounds. The snake had not been fed for a month and the medical examiner confirmed it was trying to eat the baby girl, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Charles told detectives that the snake was in its tank when he retired for bed that night, and an hour later he said he found the python in the hallway, after which he stuffed the deadly beast in a mesh laundry bag with a small hole, and put it in its tank. He subsequently covered the unsecured tank with a quilt that was held on by safety pins, telling authorities he thought this was enough to secure the exotic pet.
The next morning, Charles reportedly found the snake coiled around Shaiunna’s head with its fangs sunk into her forehead.
Mum Jaren told deputies that Gypsy the snake had escaped from the tank and the laundry bag at least 10 times in the two months prior to her daughter’s killing, and said that she had planned to make a locking lid for the tank.
Charles then called 911 and could be heard saying, “She got out of the cage and got into the baby’s crib and strangled her to death. I’m going to kill the b****,” in the frantic recording of the call as he reportedly stabbed their pet snake with a knife and meat cleaver. Shaiunna tragically died at the scene.
Notably, the aquarium was kept in the living room of their house, where Charles’ two young kids, aged 12 and seven at the time, slept on a sofa bed. Luckily, those two children were unharmed.
Tampa Bay Times reports that in May 2009, in two separate incidents, Charles was arrested and charged with driving with a suspended license, criminal mischief, and possession of cocaine and pain pills.
He was also accused of ripping a mirror off his ex-wife’s car. In that same month, someone had called in a complaint to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), alleging that the couple were regular drug users and neglected the young children living in their house under their care.
A snake breeder, Eugene Bessette, also testified during the 2011 trial and said the python was very underfed and malnourished. According to NBC News, Eugene also said the snake’s home aquarium was not fit for the reptile: “It’s totally and impossibly incapable of housing a python. It has no way to secure the animal. It’s impossible. You can put fish in there if it doesn’t leak.”
WTSP reports Gypsy the snake had been mum Jaren’s pet since she was 14-year-old, while Charles took responsibility for the care of the python.
During the trial, Jaren’s defence attorney, Ismael Solis Jr, said she had owned the albino python for five years as he argued that “this snake was no different than a family dog. The snake is like a little puppy to her.”
Jaren and Charles were both found guilty of third degree murder, manslaughter and child neglect for the July 2009 death of Jaren’s daughter Shaiunna. After the reading of the verdict, Charles was seen attempting to console his distraught girlfriend.
Post the sentencing, Shaiunna’s biological father, Joseph Gilkerson, said: “Justice was served. I’m happy it was served.”
Jaren and Charles both received and served a 12-year prison sentence, with state records showing Charles was released from prison in January 2021 while Jaren was released nine months later.
Despite the horrific tragedy, the couple seemed to have maintained their romantic relationship while incarcerated, and reportedly claimed they planned to get married upon their release, even as they were instructed to remain on parole until 2026.
News 6 reportedly contacted a number associated with Charles, and Jaren declined to comment, as per Click Orlando.
In a separate case, Shaiunna’s dad Joseph lodged a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Children and Families for wrongful death, as he alleged that the agency had failed to safeguard his child after a DCF investigator had seen the python in the house. The lawsuit was later settled after a confidential agreement between Joseph and the department.
Jaren and her partner Charles became the first people in Florida’s history to be convicted on criminal charges for a snake killing, as per the state attorney’s office. After the tragedy, the Florida legislature amended state rules to broadly prohibit the possession of Burmese pythons and other large snakes.
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