ETOWAH COUNTY, Alabama -- Savannah Hardin, the 9-year-old girl who died Monday at Children's of Alabama, was forced to run for three straight hours after lying to her grandmother about eating a candy bar, a spokeswoman for the Etowah County sheriff's Office said.

It was that punishment that led to extreme dehydration and ultimately Savannah's death, authorities said.

Joyce Hardin Garrard, 46, and Jessica Mae Hardin, 27, were both charged with murder in connection to the death. Joyce Garrard is the child's grandmother and Jessica Hardin is her step-mother.

Social workers are at Carlisle Elementary School, where Savannah was a student, to help her classmates cope with the loss, said Etowah County schools superintendent Alan Cosby.

"They are doing as well as can be expected," Cosby said today.

Savannah's desk has been turned into a makeshift memorial where students can leave notes in remembrance of the girl, Cosby said. The notes will be collected and given to Savannah's father, he said.