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Subscribe to RSSThe stepmother and grandmother of a 9-year-old Alabama girl, who died after she was forced to run for 3 hours as punishment, face murder charges. WVTM-TV reports.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - An Alabama woman is under guard at a hospital after she gave birth following her arrest in the death of her 9-year-old stepdaughter, who authorities say was forced to run for three hours as punishment for lying about eating a candy bar.
Jessica Mae Hardin, 27, was transferred from the Etowah County Detention Center to a hospital on Wednesday, sheriff's office spokeswoman Natalie Barton said. Etowah County District Attorney Jimmie Harp confirmed that Hardin had given birth hours after she was arrested. He didn't say whether the newborn was a boy or a girl.
This combo made from photos released by the Etowah County Sheriff's Dept. shows Joyce Hardin Garrard, 46, left, and Jessica Mae Hardin, 27.
Hardin and her mother-in-law, 46-year-old Joyce Hardin Garrard, were arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday in the death of Savannah Hardin.
"The child was running laps and sometimes sprinting around the property," Harp told msnbc.com on Thursday. "The grandmother was standing outside acting like a drill sergeant."
Roger Simpson, who lives up the hill from the doublewide trailer where Savannah lived with Jessica and her father Robert Hardin, said he saw the girl running in the yard. When emergency vehicles arrived at the home hours later, he said he thought they were there for the pregnant Jessica.
"I saw her running down there, that's what I told the detectives," Simpson said from his home on a hill overlooking the Hardins. "But I don't see how that would kill her."
Alabama law requires people who are arrested to be informed of the charges against them in an initial appearance within 72 hours. Barton said Jessica Hardin's hearing will likely be held once she is released from the hospital.
The Alabama Department of Human Resources has been called in to create a safety plan for Jessica's newborn, as well as the couple's 3-year-old son, Harp said.
Savannah
The child had a bladder condition common to young girls that meant she shouldn't have chocolate because of the caffeine content, Harp said. He said there is no evidence that the condition contributed to her death.
Authorities say Savannah was forced to run in the afternoon of Friday, Feb. 17. At around 6:45 p.m. Jessica called 911, telling dispatchers Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.
Cops: Grandmother, stepmom charged after girl is forced to run for 3 hours, dies
The girl was taken to Children's Hospital in Birmingham and died Monday.
Robert Hardin, a contractor with the U.S. State Department, took eight flights to return to Alabama. Harp said the father was working overseas in Pakistan.
"It must have been horrible," Harp said, "especially for what he saw when he got back."
Robert Hardin made the decision to pull his daughter off life support, according to AP.
Her death was ruled a homicide by a state pathologist and preliminary reports show she was extremely dehydrated and had a very low sodium level -- a chemical necessary to prevent seizures and dehydration.
Telephone messages left by msnbc.com to a listing with the father's name were not returned Thursday.
'Heartbreaking situation'
Harp said he may pursue capital murder charges, which carry a possible death sentence. He said his office is interviewing neighbors who had seen Savannah running and expects to have a decision on the charges in a day or two.
The district attorney said he was not aware of any defense attorneys for the two women. He said in their initial appearance they will be advised of the charges against them and offered a public defender.
Bond for Garrard and Jessica Hardin is set at $500,000 each.
Savannah was a third-grader at Carlisle Elementary School. Superintendent Alan Cosby said her desk had been turned into a makeshift memorial where her classmates could leave notes and mementos. He said counselors and social workers were made available for students.
"This is obviously a very tragic, devastating, heartbreaking situation," Cosby said.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News
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Well looks like the authorities need to take this baby before she has the chance to kill this one too!
In Florida, they'd probably just give her the baby back. After all, they gave a couple of boys back to the dad who tried to kill them a few weeks ago.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/23/10487071-florida-agency-returned-kids-to-monster-dad
Agree..take that baby away from her until the court case is over and she passes a mental medical test.
Maybe they ahould make Mom and Granny run for three hours straight with no water or rest.
Here's a 'safety plan' : take those 2 little ones away from her immediately and terminate her parental rights. Those of the sperm donor, too.
jkatze - Did you not read "Robert Hardin, a contractor with the U.S. State Department, took eight flights to return to Alabama. Harp said the father was working overseas in Pakistan."
This child needs to be removed from this "person" right away!!
OHGuy;
So the Dad was working out of the country? Poor man must be beside himself!
Guilty until proven innocent. Internet law rules!
Yet another POS that shouldn't be allowed to breed!!!
Remove this child asap from this backwoods dumbazz of a mother. Then have her spayed.
2 charged in death of Ala girl forced to run
This mother and grandmother both should never be allowed to be within a 2500 feet of any child ever again.
Lock them up and throw away the key.
Hey SoB--there are witnesses that watched the crime being committed--over the course of three hours! How much more guilty do you want--videotape? And I have my own opinion of those charming "witnesses" that decided that a nine-year-old being run without a break for three continuous hours "warn't no nevermind" to them...
This was aggravated child abuse that resulted in death. Three hours...charge them both with premeditated murder. Oh, and yes, I hope that neither mom nor grandma ever see that baby again!
Yeah, great commercial for prophylactics and we have religion saying that contraceptives are wrong. Take care of the living first.
Take the kid away and sterilize this child-killer.
Great. Another child to abuse. How horrible for that poor little girl.
Two more... She already had a 3 year old with the girl's dad too. Sounds like a classic case of "step-mom ousts child from previous relationship" -- only with the twist that the poor kid's grandma was involved too. The two look related though so I'm wondering if grandma was actually step-grandma. If not, it's an uncanny coincidence.
Guess Stepmommy Dearest won't have Savannah in her way anymore.
The way the article reads, I would say that it was her paternal grandmother and not a step-grandmother.
it was paternal grandmother, Robert Hardin's mother. So in one day he lost his wife, mother, and daughter, and gained an newborn. no clue what could be going thru this guys head right now.
i would walk up, pay my wife's bail. Walk her to the car, and open the door for her. Make sure she was uckeld in nice and safe. Once home, i would at last be able to vent. I wouldnt kill her, not by any means. even tho she would be beggging for that sweet release to where she thinks she might be with my daughter, but no. I would take her to an empty field, away from anyone, and i know the place. Hand her the shovel to dig her grave. it wouldnt be very deep, but to let her know thats enough turned up soil and make her lay in her hole. The gun sad to say only goes click. Of course for her to stand trial after i drop her off in a dumpster behind the hospital and make a call to let them know she is there, and will bleed out, she will have to regain her competency. She will be past any doubt for a while clinically insane when i am done. It's all cool tho, i have insurance :) taxpayers dont need to worry about the medical. She being my wife, still covered, yey! its a win-win. The justice system can do whatever they feel like after i have my turn. i'd have that deductable to pay of course, but still... the meds i would be on to deal with everything, its all black box drugs, and any doc will by law have to say you could be that 1 out of ? number that drug made legally not in a mental state of rationalisation. i paid my daughter's killer's bail, i mean serious.
why someone hasnt made a book or movie on some kind of tradgedy spin off like this is beyond me, but if its out there i havent read it, or seen it. seriously i wouldnt bail her out. they wouldnt let me anyway. would they? Bad as it is, there may be more to the story than what we are reading. the step mom might have been forced to live with the mother, and live by her rules. her rules might have included she deals the punishments. yes of course this step mother could have called authorities, but kind of look at it for what it is. daddy's gone, and stuck with? knocked up, and who knows if she had anyone from the area. yes she could have called someone, but you are talking about possibly having your mother in law arrested. we all know the result of any type of intervention might have had some bad concequences. we dont know much about the homelife, but from what was said about grams... not one for a preggo to mess with by her looks. just putting that out there, not to mention she has that look. not to mention i know i went out of my own thing with calling people as far as looks goes... but kind of wondering if Danny Divito's real last name might be Hardin? (throw mamma from the train).
Cant say what i would do about the mom issue tho, thats a tuffy. i dont think a lot of people can honestly make a call what to do, i know what i could do, but unless face to face with that type of situation, being it was actually my own mother directly responsible? thats pretty hard to make a call on. but i think after i dropped off the wife, they might not let me bail mom out anyway. Definatly no talking terms, and out of life.
Okay, I read the article and I'm assuming that like most articles; it is eye catching, but lacking all details. Without all of the facts, it's hard to make a call. Comments above addressing, 'how much more proof do you need,' come from anger. Everytime a child dies, it's tragic, but especially when it could have been prevented. It's something that makes us all angry and sad. We still need all of the facts or we are not doing that girl justice. She deserves for everyone to know what really happened. I'm not defending or sticking up for anyone in this matter, but the article leaves a lot out. Witnesses say that they saw a girl running around the house. Okay, so how many of you have had your child run around a house? How many of you have told your child to run around the house to burn off energy? I'm not saying that's what happened, but I'm putting light on the fact that it doesn't take much for a story to be twisted. Witnesses also say that the grandmother was outside with her acting as a drill sargeant. That's weird, but still could be twisted. Were they playing a game, I play pretend with my kids. It's innocent, but I can't help but wonder how much of it could be construed? The part that really is not debateable is the fact that it was three hours, was it really? I don't know, but you have to factor in everything. Weather, water, health, etc... I guess I don't feel comfortable with condemning someone until I know everything. There is just too much I don't know at this point. I know a little girl died and she needs to be heard. I know that according to witnesses she was running outside with her grandma. I don't know where the step-mom was or what she was doing, but if she wasn't outside while this was happening it seems a little weird. I don't know about anyone else, but if my mother in law was outside with my step-daughter, I wouldn't be babysitting the grandma unless based on previous behavior I thought it was necessary. If I had a three year old inside and was pregnant, obviously late in the pregnancy, I would be tired and probably grateful for a break, nap, etc...If grandma took the oldest for a while that would be helpful. I don't see any part in the article that clearly states what the stepmom was doing or what circumstances (leading up to the seizures) made the stepmom call 911. Note, the stepmom called 911, not the grandma. (I love how a lot of comments here are really about hating the stepmom, they aren't all bad.) In this case, the grandma was significantly involved, was being a "sargeant," and was the one a witnesss saw. A witness even commented that they thought the ambulance was for the mom. A lot of you are so quick to judge, but in reality you need more info. You refer to the mom as a child abuser, but have no idea. This is horribly tragic. I believe that running for three hours is not a punishment and should have never been used as such.I fail to see how it could have been used as such unless there was a hatred towards running or it was some diet cruelty abuse. (You ate a candy bar so go run it off.) Either way if that's what it was the grandma is guilty for administering it and the mom is guilty for allowing it. Stepmom or no, she is the parent in charge. Furthermore, what type of person can watch a child run and not know that they are tired, dehydrated, overheated, etc. The grandmother watched as her granddaughter ran herself to dealth, (again according to the article.) She didn't once stop and think about stopping it? I mean, three hours is a long time to observe and rethink and regret and whatever. She held her grandaughter in her hands and crushed her. That was her sons daughter! I guess I would be looking at records and child abuse on her son as well. This just might be the fuse that breaks in the son.
Again, I'm not defending the mom, but there just seems more information against the grandmother than the stepmom and yet there are so many comments against the stepmom. Something is missing and until all is known, I wouldn't judge. You had a mom and grandmother that both felt the need to dish out the same punishment? Furthermore, neither one of them decided to stop it? The mother didn't come out and stop it and the grandmother didn't argue with her daughter in law that perhaps they shouldn't do this? I have told my son I would put him in the corner if he didn't do what I said. My mom will be the first to feel bad for him. She will look at me as though questioning, do I mean it, and then will look at my son and say you better do what momma says so you don't have to sit in the corner. I believe that most grandmas are like this, that's why there are so many tshirts with 'I'm calling grandma.' I wont' even touch the subject of my mother in law, she questions everything. Basically everything I do, she would do different. It's hard for me to believe that a stepmom and a paternal grandmother would agree with the punishment. I repeat, something is missing.
Forgive my totalitarian rant: make people take mental health examinations before being allowed to reproduce!!!
But... but... that would be... Eugenics!! An idea, which, in cases like these I would totally be in favor of.
Here's a radical proposal for ya: Put something in the water which makes all humans sterile and require an exam and a license to receive the antidote before being allowed to reproduce. The Catholic Church would never support such a thing, because in their terms all sex would be 'sinful', but if we're ever going to get world wide population growth under control something like this might become necessary.
The only issue with that is that pregnancy and postpartum conditions can change your mental state drastically due to hormone fluctuations. They may test totally sane before pregnancy, but watch out during and after!
Step-grandmother has no excuse, unless she also just had another child....which is not all that unlikely, considering the region & their actions.
Okay... I don't have children and don't plan to have any. That being said, I know many people who thought they would be horrible parents who are wonderful with kids... and I know people who wanted loads of children who are regretting that wish. As much as I feel that some people just shouldn't have kids, I don't think we can legislate an answer. I am a hardcore democrat, I fully believe in the rights of children, yet eugenics is not the way to go. What we do need is an empowered, professional, and highly paid group of people who investigate claims of child abuse. I know that many are angry about how much government workers are paid and the benefits they receive, but I can't think of anything more important than the jobs that protect our way of life and protect us from harm. If we pay extremely low wages for important jobs (protecting the lives of children), what do we expect in return? Overworked, underpaid people who are incompetent.
Elpea, you are spot-on. I couldn't agree more.
IMO There are times when vigilante justice should be used. This is one of those times.
I would like to see these two idiots run for five hours. That should be part of their punishment and that little baby should never be allowed in that murderers hands.
They'd probably just give her the baby back. She's been arrested, but it might have been her mother-in-law that was the one with the bright idea and the power to enforce it--anyway, we'll read their stories in the future, all chopped up and poorly edited.
The court should boot step-mom out of the hospital and off the pain killers you know she's getting now that she's whomped out another potential abuse victim. Get her out there in the yard running till she drops dead. Her and the grandma both.
I knew the "stepmother" was prego.... I suspect that the child suffered from a very basile behavior that other species exact on offspring that aren't their's. Many species off the young of thier intended mate to ensure that thier genetic stain has a better chance of survival. And look.... She was prego indeed. I bet her mother is even worse.... That is usually how it goes. My first adoptive family was a similar case: She got prego, it wasn't his. They divorced and he went his own way while I was faced with a mother/daughter scenario of abuse where her mother was the most negative element. I've seen it often with mothers and daughters even outside my life. Too bad. You know how they say "Men think with thier head and not their head"? My counter to that is that "Some women just can't think outside their box".....
My mother couldn't think outsider her box and I agree with you there. But it was the little girl's paternal grandmother her own flesh and blood. Very disappointing....
"Step-monster"
Carson, there seems to be significant evidence out there to support the idea that non-biological parents can be a serious threat to offspring of their partners. In many species of animal, a male who is interested in a female in heat will commonly kill un-weaned offspring of the female before breeding with her to promote the survival of his own future progeny. With few exceptions among animals, females rarely nurture another female's off-spring.
IMO when we hear of a horrible human occurance like this, there is some latent instinct involved.
I'm wondering which if the two women came up with the idea and which one enforced it. Grandma's 46, and it's probably her house, her rules, her granddaughter. Or maybe she's living with the stepmother, and it's stepmom's house and rules.
Both women are adults, who are responsible for the child's welfare. Whoever didn't step in to help is just as guilty as the one who enforced the punishment.
And, most tragically, another child enters this dysfunctional home.
Yeah. Nothing like having "When you were born, mommy was being indicted for capital murder of your older half-sibling" as your beginning to get you off on the right road.
The Alabama State Prison & Correctional System would like to send out shout-out to the newest members of our prison family......... "Let's give a big round of applause and welcome to Joyce Garrard & Jessica Hardin! Let's do everything we can to make them feel welcome and extra special in their new home and with their new prison family! They truly deserve our very best!
Straight from the "double-wide" right through the sliding iron doors.
With any luck, she'll be in prison until her child is an adult.
And abortion is worse than this? How? Tell that to the little girl who endured the abuse and running for 3 hours to her death. Sick people should not procreate.
And where is the father of this poor child? And is he also the father of this new baby?
I doubt it.
Optomyst - Did you not read "Robert Hardin, a contractor with the U.S. State Department, took eight flights to return to Alabama. Harp said the father was working overseas in Pakistan."
This was pointed out in the article in-depth, about the father. Some people don't read anything past the headlines, yet these are the same ones standing on their soapbox telling others who can procreate and who can't.
Anyone without basic reading comprehension skills needs to hone those skills before replying. Otherwise, someone will be telling you not to procreate.
He was working overseas. Read the article
take the child and give it to foster care then execute the stinkin white trash grandmother then hang the rotten ugly stepmother.....end of story.
was the thing human?
Good ol southern discipline....all kinds of stuff like this happens down there. My aunt was raped and murdered by her own father back in the fifities, he got away with it because he set the whole house on fire and tried to kill the rest of his kids and grandchild so it would look like an accidental housefire. But back in the day they didn't do much investigating when it came to things like house fires. I would like to know the actual facts but I wasn't made aware of it until after my father passed away in 2009, my uncle's MIA with mental illness and my cousin who was a baby at the time was too young to remember anything now. She is physically scarred because of the fire. I hope there is justice for this little girl's life being ended so soon. I feel for the other children involved in this situation because this will follow them for life, too bad stupid people have to do such stupid things.
oh I left out that my aunt was 14 when she was murdered and no justice was seen for her death or the attempted murder of my father, uncle and cousin. Southern states were messed up 50years ago so why would it be any different now.
It happens everywhere, not just the south. Think before you speak.
iknowabuse, What a stupid comment about the south, Where do you live, Detroit, New York, murder capital USA. You are just showing your intellegence level with such remarks.
Excuse me. Don't lump the rest of the South with those inbreds in AL. I was born and reared in North Carolina. Yes there are abuse cases here too. But also all over the country.
This StepMonster will get hers. She will one day have to stand in front of St. Peter and explain. I hope that she is put away for a long time and that her life made a living hell. That goes for the Grandmother too.
This is absolutely tragic. Horribly cruel. Poor little angel.
Mom & daughter look alike.
Sure do, you know those family trees in the South don't have any branches...
Steelermama, another stupid bitch comment, does your family tree even have a trunk??
Overall, it is a sad situation... but I certainly hope the newborn and little boy will no longer be in the custody of the step-mother or mother AFTER they both get out of prison. With any luck, these children will be of legal age-or older before these 2 get out of prison. If Robert Hardin is the natural father of BOTH of these children - I pray he loves and takes care of them.
Stop breeding, jeez
This is the reason abortion needs to stay legal. How horrible for this child forced to run to her death. When a woman doesn't want her child, this kind of crap happens. A good argument for having a CHOICE. Sick people in this world and sometimes prevention is kinder. Some will argue ADOPTION...well, apparently that doesn't happen...A LOT of the time. That would be a better alternative, but until people aren't evil, then the choice needs to remain...and people will always be pretty evil...not all, but many. Read it everyday.
diverdown1, lets kill all the children before they are born, just incase that sometime in their life they maybe abused, good thinking!
I agree 100% with you american-2444716 your comments are right on target with some of these posters.
Yea... um right, abortion will solve the problem? Abortion is NOT prevention. Abortion is NOT birth control. Abortion IS murder!
lol@these anti-choicers responding to you
I think you missed the "stepmother" part of the article, but that's kind of an easy thing to skip over.
I can kinda see where you're coming from, though I'm not sure people who are likely to be abusive even realize "hey I might be abusive maybe I shouldn't have children".
"What we have here is a failure to communicate." It's a shame that one (1) in five (5) adults in the U.S. have a mental illness. I'm going to have to chalk this one up to mental illness, ignorance and dysfunction. I really don't see how we can jump to the conclusion that the mother and grandmother intentionally murdered the child. It's just very sad that this poor child was born to a family of such idiots. Poor baby was determined not to give up. Seems like she was going to show them that she was not a quitter. I hope she died with a smile on her face. Her purpose in this life was a great one, she will now be an example to all dumb red necks that KIDS ARE PEOPLE TOO!
My god, first her and granny kill the little girl Savannah by running her to death, now the trailer trash redneck has her own baby to harm, maybe kill...good god somebody stop them a$$holes in Alabama.
Are you drinking and posting because seriously you sound either drunk or disturbed.
So..... when some kid in a youth soccer league drops dead after exertions during practice, they find the medical reason and call it a tragedy. They don't file muder charges on the coach. In this case it is a mom and they charge her with murder? Quite frankly, that is pretty bogus.
Having the kid do laps as discipline really is no worse that extra chores that have been given to kids since time began. How many of you are medically trained enough to know how much sodium a child of her body mass expells with exercise? When she came in, did her parents stop her from getting water? Do you know what to mix with her water to replace the electrolytes?
Didn't think so..... You are not any more horrible a parent than these people.
Tragic sports incidents like you describe are the reason the there are now laws in place mandating a certain amount of rest time/water breaks for every hour of practice. But that's... Regulation! Gubmint innerference in are privit lives!! Git yer stinkin' gubmint hands offa are socker fields!! (Intentional misspelling to make a point.)
Extra laps is one thing, but 3 hours of running as a punishment for eating chocolate is another. The CHILD had a medical condition that made it so she was not even supposed to have the chocolate in the first place. Do you suppose her body was under stress to start with? It sounds to me that if a GRANDMOTHER OF A CHILD can stand in a yard watching this little girl run to her death it was not the first time there was an extreme punishment given. The woman needs to know her punishments are child abuse and she should be held responsible. People like this won't change their ways on their own.
Jim, I am not medically trained to know how much sodium a child´s body expells with exercise. Yet, I do know, that making a child run for three straight hours with no break or no water is NOT OK. Are you really suggesting that one needs a medical training to know that running for three hours straight without proper hydration is a bad idea??? I am sorry, but if you suggesting that making a child run for three hours straight as a punishment is no worse than giving her "extra chores", then I certainly hope you do not have any children in your care.
Jim, I profoundly hope you are not allowed any contact with children. Three hours of nonstop running with no breaks whatsoever isn't abuse? What a sick, twisted mind! An adult could not take three solid hours of nonstop running with no water and no stopping--it's a death sentence for a nine-year-old child with a bladder problem! For everyone's sake--stay away from kids!...
Jim. Get help, and stay away from soccer fields and children. Please.
PLEASE do this newborn a favor: take it away from its evil, child-abusing mother!
Think the mother is on her way to prison, so I don't think that will be a problem.
the girls at pee wee valley will have fun with these two
This is totally beyond understanding. I cannot imagine what would prompt anyone to subject a child to such cruelty. Both need to be locked away for a very long time.
Personality disorders in the Cluster B category or out of control chemical abuse are the two common reasons.