The grandmother and stepmother of a nine-year-old Alabama girl, Savannah Hardin, are facing murder charges for forcing her to run for three hours until she died, MSNBC is reporting. Savannah was punished for lying to her grandmother, Joyce Hardin Garrard, about eating candy bars, and had to run as a result. She was severely dehydrated and later had a seizure, dying three days later.

An Etowah County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said witnesses told deputies Savannah was told to run on February 17, 2012 for three hours. Her stepmother, 27-year-old Jessica Mae Hardin, later called police at 6:45 pm, saying that Savannah was having a seizure and was unresponsive.

Savannah died on February 20 at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. The autopsy showed that she was extremely dehydrated, and had very low sodium. A state pathologist ruled the death a homicide.

Neighbor Roger Simpson told police that he saw Savannah running outside her home around 4pm, but didn’t give it a second thought, as no one was chasing or coercing her. Police are trying to determine if she was forced to run by physical coercion or by verbal commands.

The sheriff’s office reported to Savannah’s home after concerned citizens witnessed the girl running and called police. Garrard and Hardin are being held in the Etowah County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond each.

Written by: Karen Benardello