On Monday, Mississippi authorities provided more details about the deaths of a Louisiana woman and her 4-year-old daughter, who was abducted and taken across state lines before being killed last week.
An AMBER Alert was issued for Jalie and Erin Brunett, 6 and 4, on Thursday, after Callie Brunett, 35, was found dead with sharp blunt-force injuries in her Loranger home. Later that day, Erin Brunett was found dead in a wooded area near Jackson, Mississippi, and Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said she was likely suffocated or asphyxiated, according to NOLA.com.
Jalie Brunett was found injured but alive in a car not far from where her sister was discovered deceased.
“I would assume — and this is clearly an assumption — that she possibly died from asphyxiation or suffocation but we would have to wait on the medical examiner before we release that information,” Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said.
“I did not see any gunshot wounds or anything like that,” Wade said, noting that they are awaiting confirmation from the coroner regarding Erin Brunett’s death.”
Meanwhile, Tangipahoa Parish Coroner Rick Foster said Callie Brunett suffered stab wounds to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, and back. Foster said she also had defensive wounds on her arms, according to NOLA.com.
The slain woman’s boyfriend, Daniel Callihan, 32, is believed to have killed her before taking the two children to Jackson, Mississippi, and killing the youngest one. The following day, Victoria Cox, 32, was arrested at a hotel in the same city. Reports indicated Cox is an acquaintance of Callihan’s or her girlfriend.
Callihan and Cox remain jailed in Mississippi as they are charged with capital murder and sexual battery. In Louisiana, Callihan is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery, and aggravated kidnapping.
Authorities in both Mississippi and Louisiana said they have not ruled out the death penalty.
