By Chris Joseph
Published: Jun. 17, 2024 at 11:21 AM CDT|Updated: Jun. 17, 2024 at 3:32 PM CDT
JACKSON, Miss. (WVUE) - The Jackson Police chief provided updates Monday (June 17) on the case against two Tangipahoa Parish residents facing charges of capital murder and sexual battery in the killing of a 4-year-old and the abduction of her 6-year-old sister.
Daniel Callihan and his alleged accomplice, Victoria Cox, are currently held in Jackson-area jails after the body of 4-year-old Erin Brunett was found in woods outside the city last Thursday. Her 6-year-old sister was found alive but injured.
Callihan and Cox each are booked with capital murder and sexual battery in Mississippi. Callihan also faces multiple charges in Tangipahoa Parish, including first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated kidnapping and armed robbery.
Jackson Police chief Joseph Wade says additional charges could be possible in Mississippi, and federal charges are possible in the coming days.
Callihan is also accused of killing the girls’ mother, Callie Brunett, in her Loranger home. The Tangipahoa Parish Coroner’s Office said she died of multiple sharp force injuries, according to the preliminary autopsy findings. Her father discovered her body early Thursday morning after she was reported missing the day before. Louisiana State Police issued an AMBER Alert for her two daughters, who were unaccounted for.
Callihan made a shocking confession to killing the child and requested the death penalty after he was taken into custody following an hours-long search across state lines Thursday. He said he had “no reason for what I did.”
“All I know is I was sober and only on Lexapro and off Lexapro, and I’m also diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder,” he continued.
Chief Wade says Callihan echoed those sentiments during interrogation.
“He’s not denying anything. He has implicated the young lady that we charged. We feel we have a very strong case against both of them,” he said.
Chief Wade speculated that Erin Brunett, the 4-year-old victim, is believed to have died from suffocation or asphyxiation, although the exact cause of death is pending the results from a forensic pathologist and medical examiner. The chief confirmed there were no gunshot wounds.
Regarding the crime scene, Chief Wade doubled down on what he saw when he first arrived on Friday.
“We normally don’t take three days to process a scene. I observed small cages myself and small wire enclosures. And other things that led us to believe that it was possibly a location that human trafficking can happen or transpire. We don’t have any state charges yet in reference to that,” he said. “If there’s a case that would rise to the level of the death penalty, this would definitely be it. I still have imprinted in my head the sight of that [young girl] in the woods dead.”
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“We want to know what he did there. And how and why do you come to Jackson, Mississippi? You could have gone anywhere else east or west but you come here,” Wade remarked.
Chief Wade does not believe there are any additional suspects involved.
“He’s a bad actor. The city of Jackson, Louisiana, and the whole Gulf South region is a better place because those two are behind bars. The threat to those two beautiful children is a threat to all children,” he said in conclusion. “It is very hurtful as a father and a police chief to see that done to those children. He’s a bad actor, bad guy, bad person. She’s a bad person. I guess that’s the motive. Bad people doing bad things. It is horrific and sickening what they did last week.”
The extent of Cox’s role, the motive behind the crimes, and how the duo will be prosecuted remain unclear. In her first court appearance on Monday she was denied bond on the capital murder charge, keeping her jailed during proceedings.
“You have two federal jurisdictions, two or more state jurisdictions,” said Fox 8 legal analyst Joe Raspanti. “There may be a crime that occurred in Mississippi that only they can prosecute over there.”
A public defender represented Cox, arguing that the two girls were alive when his client last saw them. He says Cox was picked up on the way to Jackson with no information about the girls.
A judge set a $500,000 bond on the sexual battery charge.
Prosecutors in Louisiana, Mississippi, and the federal government will be involved in the decision.
“If one group wants to prosecute the case they’re going to prosecute it, whether or not the other group prosecutes it,” Raspanti said. “He could be convicted and death penalties in both, and whoever’s appellate issues run out first would be the ones who execute him first, if we get to that. But I’ll tell you what, it’s been a long time (14 years) since somebody’s been executed in Louisiana.”
A joint press conference with other agencies, including DPS, MBI, and the FBI is scheduled for next Monday.
A digital tip line (1-800-CALL-FBI) established by the FBI is welcoming photos and video that may aid in the investigation.
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