Shaiunna Hare, a 2 year-old girl from Florida, was strangled during sleep in her crib by an 8-foot, 5-inch pet Burmese python that had escaped its aquarium on Wednesday (June 1). The girl’s mother Jaren Ashley Hare, 21, lives with her boyfriend Charles Jason Darnell, 32, and they did not have a permit for the snake.

A 911 call was made from the house by a sobbing caller who screamed, “The baby’s dead! Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby. She got out of the cage last night and got into the baby’s crib and strangled her to death.”

When paramedics arrived the little girl was already dead, despite Darnell’s attempt to get the snake away from her by repeatedly stabbing the python. Darnell did not have the $100 permit required to own a python in Florida, which is a second-degree misdemeanor and he also might be charged for child neglect.

George Van Horn, owner of Reptile World Serpentarium in St. Cloud, said the strangulation could have occurred because the snake felt threatened or because it thought the child was food. “They are always operating on instinct,” he said. “Even the largest person can become overpowered by a python.”

Burmese Python Pet Snake Pictures