Defense rests in Fla. case of pet python that killed toddler

(CBS/WKMG) SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. - The defense rested its case Wednesday in the trial of a woman and her boyfriend charged in the death of a 2-year-old girl, who was strangled by a pet python that escaped from its terrarium.

Jaren Hare and 34-year-old Jason Damell are charged with manslaughter and child abuse in the July 2009 death of Shanianna Hare, the woman's daughter.

"Although that albino Burmese python is the instrument of death, those two defendants are responsible for the death of Shaianna Hare," said prosecutor Pete Magrino Tuesday during his opening statement.

An expert testified in court Wednesday that Hare's 13 pound python was undernourished, reported CBS affiliate WKMG.

Documents show the 8-foot-6 inch Burmese snake had escaped repeatedly in the month before the girl's death.

Darnell told investigators that although the snake was in its tank when he went to bed that night, he found it in the hall an hour later and returned it to the terrarium.

The next morning, Darnell says he found the snake coiled around the child's head with its fangs sunk into her forehead.

Defense attorneys reportedly told jurors that neither Hare nor her boyfriend saw the snake as a threat.

In court Wednesday the prosecutor showed Darnell the glass tank that housed the snake in Hare's home which used a blanket as a lid, reports WKMG. When asked if that was proper and secure for a Burmese python in a home, he replied, "That item, in its condition and with that blanket covering it, is incapable of housing a Burmese python."

Jaren Hare and Darnell face more than three decades behind bars if they're convicted on the most serious charges in the case.

Closing arguments are expected to be held Thursday.

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