A Mississippi grand jury this week indicted Daniel Callihan and his alleged accomplice in connection with the killing of a Louisiana mother and the kidnapping of her two daughters, one of whom was found dead in Jackson.
Callihan, 36, was charged Thursday with one count of capital murder, two counts of kidnapping, three counts of sexual battery and one count of receiving stolen property. Victoria Cox, 32, was charged with capital murder, kidnapping and sexual battery charges. Both face similar charges in Tangipahoa Parish.
Graphic new details were also revealed in the case that left 35-year-old Callie Brunett of Loranger and her 4-year-old daughter, Erin Brunett, dead. Brunett's older daughter, who is 6 years old, survived the kidnapping and was found in a dirt pit next to her sister, according to court documents.
The series of horrific and inhumane events that spanned two states were called "a senseless tragedy" by Tangipahoa Sheriff's Chief Jimmy Travis. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said he has worked in homicide for nine years, but what he witnessed in the wooded area where Callihan and the two girls were found is an image stained in his mind forever.
"I will never forget that baby in the woods."
'A senseless tragedy'
On Thursday, June 13, detectives found Callie Brunett, 35, dead in the bedroom of her Loranger home on North Cooper Road after being reported missing for 24 hours.
Callihan had allegedly stabbed Brunett about 30 times, court records show.
Callie Brunett (family photo)
Following the discovery of Callie Brunett's body, deputies reported her two children were missing from the home, triggering a frantic statewide search. Brunett's black 2012 Chrysler 200 was also missing, court records show.
In the course of the investigation, authorities discovered that Callihan and the two girls were spotted in a McDonald's in McComb, Mississippi, that afternoon, Travis said.
Authorities were staging on Boozier Drive in Jackson when two people approached and said that they heard children screaming in the woods behind a home on that street.
Shortly after, Erin and her sister were located in a pit on the property about 50 yards behind the house, court documents say. Brunett's car was found nearby.
Authorities found the older daughter alive but injured. Erin was found dead.
During an interview with law enforcement, Callihan said he was going to keep the living child as "a sex slave," court documents said.
He added that he had been wanting to kill Brunett for "some time." Callihan and Brunett had dated "on and off," according to WWL Louisiana and multiple other news outlets.
Callihan also told officers that after stabbing Brunett and kidnapping the children, he took them to Mississippi, where they stayed at the Boozier Drive home. The girls were crying and did not want to stay with him, Callihan said.
At the time, a detective at the Jackson Police Department, Tommie Brown, said investigations found potential signs of human trafficking in a supposedly "abandoned" home close to where Erin's body was found. While it was not proven that the property was linked to the crime, Brown said that authorities found cages inside.
Court documents did not specify if the abandoned home was the Boozier Drive residence.
'I did it'
On June 14, Callihan and Cox, who police said were dating, were arrested and booked in connection to the killings.
Callihan admitted to reporters that he was responsible for the deaths of Erin and her mother, proceeding to go on a long tangent about his mental health history while Mississippi police escorted him to jail.
“Sober, no drugs in my system, I did it,” Callihan said. “For what I did, lethal injection is the easiest thing for me.”
Daniel Callihan is taken into custody on June 13, 2024 in Jackson, Mississippi. (Photo courtesy of the Tangipahoa Sheriff’s Office)
The following week, a grand jury in Tangipahoa Parish charged Callihan with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of second-degree kidnapping.
Cox also faces murder and kidnapping charges in Tangipahoa, according to District Attorney Scott Perrilloux.
Both could face the death penalty.
