At the Childrens Hosiptal in Birmingham, Alabama on Monday, Savannah Hardin died. At 6:45 the Friday before, Jessica Mae Hardin called 911 to report her daughter was having a seizure and was unresponsive. Witnesses reported that Savannah was made to run for three straight hours without stopping. This was a result of Savannah lying to her Grandmother, Joyce Hardin Garrad, about eating a few candy bars. The Grandmother and Mother then made Savannah run outside their home which resulted in her dehydration and ultimately her death. Rodger Simpson is one neighbor of the family who reported that he saw Savannah running, but did not see anyone chasing her or physically making her run. Joyce and Jessica Mae were both arrested Wednesday on a 500,000 dollar bail awaiting trial on whether they forced little Savannah to run to death.
Ruby Ward, a local Fire Department Vice President, stated that firefighters whom responeded to the 911 call spoke about something not feeling right. In response to this girl’s seizuring, there was something that felt really wrong. Gail and Phil Denny live up the road from the Hardin Garrad family and had no suspicion that Savannah was ever mistreated. Gail said that her grandson had even asked Savannah to be his girlfriend on Valentines Day. Gail left a candle burning outside the home for Savannah after the inncident. The Garrad family owns lots of land in the area and has several homes located in the neighborhood. Play equipment is outside the home, but neighbors stated that they never saw children playing on it.
Robert Hardin apparently filed for divorce in 2010 to Jessica Mae, but after 5 months the couple told court to dismiss the case. Robert had reported that his wife had bi-polar like behaviour and a problem with alcohol. She also had run off with the children at one time. All theses accusitions were denied by Jessica Mae. A desk at Carlisle Elementary School was used as a memorial for Savannah’s classmates to leave cards and flowers. A very tragic event that is still under investigation by police.