One of two missing Louisiana girls found dead in Jackson after mother ‘brutally slain’; suspect arrested

Published: Jun. 13, 2024 at 10:45 AM CDT|Updated: Jun. 13, 2024 at 4:29 PM CDT

LORANGER, La. (WVUE) - The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office reported the recovery of 4-year-old Erin Brunett’s body. Her 6-year-old sister was found alive. The suspect, Daniel Callihan, was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi.

Suspect Daniel Callihan was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for being accused of abducting...
Suspect Daniel Callihan was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for being accused of abducting two girls and murdering their mother.(Jackson Police Department)

Police found the six-year-old injured but alive in Mississippi with Callihan, according to authorities. Erin’s body was a few yards from where her sister was found alive.

The 4-year-old was found in a wooded area near the car being driven by Daniel Callihan. Inside the vehicle, officers found the 6-year-old girl alive. She was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Her grandparents are on their way to Jackson to be with her.

“You don’t want to see that as a police chief; you don’t want to see that as a father,” said Chief Joseph Wade from the Jackson Police Department. “A coward took this child from her family.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Jackson PD are also involved in the investigation.

According to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, 35-year-old Callie Brunett was missing for over 24 hours before being found “brutally murdered” in her home at 56044 N. Cooper Road. Her death is being investigated as a homicide.

Her two small children, 4-year-old Erin and her 6-year-old sister were “unaccounted for,” Sheriff Daniel Edwards said in a 10:34 a.m. press release.

Louisiana State Police says the kids were abducted before 8 a.m. and issued an AMBER Alert at 12:28 p.m. In the alert, LSP initially said an unknown white male, later identified as Daniel Callihan, was wanted for questioning in a domestic violence incident that occurred at the time of the abduction and resulted in Brunett’s death. Officials say Callihan previously dated Callie.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Chief Jimmy Travis says Brunett was reported missing Tuesday and because her car was not at her house, her family did not believe she was home. Thursday morning, her father made entry into her home and discovered her body and her children missing.

The manner of Brunett’s death was not disclosed, but Chief Travis said there was “blood everywhere.”

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