Reptile & Amphibian Forums

OXFORD, FL -- The man whose pet snake killed his girlfriend's 2-year-old
daughter last month has been arrested on drug-related charges.

Deputies arrested 32-year-old Charles Darnell Friday afternoon following a
one week investigation. According to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office,
undercover detectives bought cocaine from Darnell in front of his home on
two separate occasions.

It's the same home where Darnell's 8 1/2 foot python strangled girlfriend's
2-year-old daughter, Shaiunna Hare, to death in July.

Darnell was pulled over just after 5 pm at the Bob's Jiffy Mart on Highway
44, where Darnell was taken into custody.

He is charged with two counts of sale of cocaine, two counts of possession
of cocaine with intent to sell, two counts of unlawful use of a two-way
communication device and two counts of keep shop for dangerous drugs.

He is in the Sumter County Jail on a $110,000 bond.

Prosecutors haven't decided whether Darnell or the girl's mother, Jaren
Hare, should be charged with wrongdoing Shaiunnna's death.

At the time Darell told deputies he put the snake in an unlocked cage the
night before, then found the snake in the bed on top of the girl when he
woke up, according to authorities.

It was on the local news here last week.

I'd be interested to know. While I hope the police and the prosecution have enough sense that they haven't already accepted that the snake killed the little girl, it might not hurt to contact the prosecutor explaining the suspicious nature of the guy's story. IMO, seems much more likely that the guy "framed" the snake than that the python killed the little girl.

Thanks,
Ed

When I first heard the story when it all started, it didn't make sense, and was suspicious.

I am not going to defend the guy but will go here ... there was a news report there were biite wounds on the forheand and the snake weighed about 20 pounds ledd then it should of.
Tom

In the extremely rare case that the snake attacked the child to eat it, there wouldn't have been multiple bite marks, and constriction marks would have been around the entire body, not just the neck. Saliva would have been all over the head and many tooth marks on the head. The guy strangled the kid, then made the snake bite the body.

Someone needs to get "Ducky" from NCIS to do the autopsy.

>>I am not going to defend the guy but will go here ... there was a news report there were biite wounds on the forheand and the snake weighed about 20 pounds ledd then it should of.
>>Tom

In addition to what Jaykis said, nothing about the mother's boyfiend's story made any sense, at least to anyone who knows anything about snakes. The guy's version of what happened was bizarre.

I've never had an 8' or 9' Burm, but I have had a 6' long Boa constrictor. If I imagine that snake was 2' or 3' longer, it would still not be nearly big enough to think about eating something the size of a 2 year old child. And if there were multiple bite marks (and we assume the guy didn't frame the snake), wouldn't that mean the snake was defensively biting, not trying to constrict and eat the kid?

All the evidence that I've seen so far points to the guy, not the snake.

I think the problem here is that if it is announced that this coke-head killed the girl, then the Governor, Senator Nelson, and the Animal Rights groups will look stupid. Not saying there is a cover-up going on, but all the right ingredients are there.

like I said in my post filled with typos... lol I was not defending the guy. I was just stating facts that were on the local news and in the local paper since there are a few of us that are local to this story. I defended the snake even though I am not a Burm person. I have very strong thoughts on that subject as well but this isnt the place for that if you want to know how I feel scroll down a few threads. I am not a big fan of the idiots that are letting the burms go in the glades either.
I have been keeping up with the threads on hr 2811 and others since it should be a reptile keepers choice but I also agree with Floridas stance on importing burms and having roc permits.
Tom