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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Stepmother gave birth hours after arrest for 'killing girl, 9,

The woman accused of 'running to death' her nine-year-old stepdaughter - who died of extreme dehydration - gave birth the same day she was arrested.
Joyce Hardin Garrard, 46, and 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, from Alabama, were charged with the murder of Savannah Hardin yesterday, who they made run without stop for three hours as punishment for lying about eating a candy bar.
Hardin was transferred from the Etowah County Detention Center to a hospital where she is currently under guard after giving birth hours after she was arrested. It is unclear whether the baby is a boy or girl.
Roger Simpson, who lives up the hill from the double-wide 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.
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 three-year-old son, Harp said.
The older child has been placed with a relative, and the plan is for the infant to be given to the same relative when it leaves the hospital. Speak said he could not reveal with whom the children were placed.
Savannah 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, February 17. At around 6:45pm Jessica called 911, telling dispatchers Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.

The girl was taken to Children's Hospital in Birmingham where she was kept on life support while Robert Hardin, a contractor with the U.S. State Department, took eight flights to return to Alabama.
Robert Hardin made the decision to pull Savannah off life support, and she died on Monday.
Cruelty: Grandmother Joyce Hardin Garrard (left) and stepmother Jessica Mae Hardin (right) have been charged with the murder of Savannah Hardin, nine
Cruelty: Grandmother Joyce Hardin Garrard (left) and stepmother Jessica Mae Hardin (right) have been charged with the murder of Savannah Hardin, nine
Cruelty: Grandmother Joyce Hardin Garrard (left) and stepmother Jessica Mae Hardin (right) have been charged with the murder of Savannah Hardin, nine
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.
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.

Sheriff Todd Entrekin told the Birmingham News: 'It's sad when a family is grieving over the death of a daughter and granddaughter and so soon to find out that the death could have been prevented.
'My thoughts and prayers are with the family.'
Garrard and Hardin were being held at the Etowah County Detention Center on $500,000 bail.

Gail Denny and her husband Phil, live just up a dirt road from the home. They've known the family since they moved to the area in northeastern Alabama seven years ago.
Concerns: Neighbours called the sheriff's office after witnessing what was happening to nine-year-old Savannah in the rural Carlisle community
Concerns: Neighbours called the sheriff's office after witnessing what was happening to nine-year-old Savannah in the rural Carlisle community
The couple said they were used to seeing Savannah and other neighbourhood children out waiting on the school bus in the morning. Gail Denny said her grandson had a crush on Savannah.
'My grandson asked her to be his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, and she said 'yes,'" she said before dissolving into tears. She left a candle and stuffed animal outside the girl's home Wednesday night, saying a prayer as she paused beside the road.
The trailer where Savannah lived was surrounded by a wooden fence, playground equipment and toys. Neighbors say they never saw children playing in the yard.
They said that Garrard owned a lot of property along the road and much of her family lived in homes on that property.
'It seems like a very happy extended family around here,' Denny said. 'There are mothers, grandmothers, kids. It sounds like a punishment that got out of hand.'
Garrard and Jessica Mae Hardin are being held in the Etowah County Detention Center, each on a $500,000 cash bond.
Court records show that Robert Hardin filed for divorce in August of 2010. In his complaint, he asserted his wife was bi-polar and had alcoholic tendencies. He accused her previously of having run off with the couple's own child. In her response, Jessica denied all of Robert's allegations.
Five months after filing for divorce, the two asked a judge to dismiss their case.
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