Mother and Grandmother Charged with Murder after 9-Year-Old Is Made to Run 3 Hours, then Dies
Two women in Alabama are under arrest for murder. Jessica Mae Hardin, 27, and Joyce Hardin Garrard, have both been charged with murder for the death of a nine-year-old girl, Savannah Hardin. Jessica is Savannah’s stepmother and Garrard is the child’s grandmother.
According to authorities, the women forced Savannah to run for three hours as punishment for lying to Garrard about eating candy bars. Savannah was extremely dehydrated and had a seizure a few hours later. She was taken to the hospital and put on life support. She died a few days later.
A neighbor who lives just up the hill from Savannah, Roger Simpson, said that he saw the girl running in the yard. He also saw the ambulance arrive later on, but thought it was for Jessica, who was pregnant.
Hardin has been appointed a public defender. Garrard is reportedly represented by Dani Bone. In a statement released by Bone, she said that Garrard was falsely accused and believes that she will be found not guilty.
The state’s Department of Human Resources has stepped in to find a placement home for Jessica’s 3 year old son, as well as a newborn baby. The baby was born just hours after Jessica was arrested.
Savannah’s father, who works for the U.S. State Department was notified of Savannah admission to the hospital. He had to take eight flights in order to get back to Alabama. He was the one who made the decision to take Savannah off of life support.
The coroner ruled Savannah’s death a homicide and said that she was extremely dehydrated. In addition, she had a very low level of sodium, which is necessary to keep the body from going into seizures from dehydration.
The charges, if they stand as is, mean that the two women could receive the death penalty if they are found guilty. Both women are being held on a half million dollar bail each.
