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Abducted girl released from hospital, returning to Loranger after mom, sister killed

6 months 1 week 5 days ago Friday, June 14 2024 Jun 14, 2024 June 14, 2024 5:50 PM June 14, 2024 in News
Source: WBRZ

LORANGER — Jalie Brunett, whose mother and little sister suffered violent deaths this week, was released from a Jackson, Mississippi, hospital Friday and the 6-year-old was heading to the family's Loranger home.

Family members told WBRZ Friday evening that the grandparents were on their way home with the girl after she was released. Jackson Police have not said what types of injuries the girl may have sustained.

Her mother, Callie Brunett, 35, was found dead at their Loranger home Thursday morning, and her sister, Erin, was found dead Thursday afternoon near Byram, Mississippi. Causes of death have not been released.

Earlier Friday, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said investigators could find no motive for the killings.

Police arrested Daniel Callihan, 36, and Victoria Cox, 32. Callihan formerly dated Brunett, and Cox was believed to be his current girlfriend.

Callihan faces homicide and aggravated kidnapping charges. The Jackson police chief said detectives didn't know Cox's role, but that both could face the death penalty if prosecutors choose to follow that route.

Both Louisiana and Mississippi prosecutors are expected to file charges. Which case goes first may depend on whose case is strongest.

Edwards said the case clearly could end with someone's execution, given the crimes' heinous nature. Callihan could also face a robbery charge.

"We know that he took some personal items from the home of the person that he killed (in Tangipahoa Parish)," Edwards said. "We know he would have been armed with a dangerous weapon."

While Mississippi officials said they found potential evidence of human trafficking in the area where Erin's body was found, Edwards said he had no evidence of that.

"At this time, I have no information that human trafficking plays any role in this," he said, adding that it was still a possibility, though.

The sheriff said it did not appear that anyone else was involved.

Edwards said Callihan had provided investigators with a timeline and that detectives want to see if that matches up with what Cox told them after her arrest at a south Jackson OYO motel.

The sheriff said his agency believed it had fully completed a request for an AMBER alert as the search began, though one didn't go out until hours after Callie Brunett's body had been found. 

"It's something that needs to be looked into," the sheriff said at a news conference at his agency's Hammond substation. He took great pains to avoid a public spot. "I don’t want to get into a tit-for-tat with our partners.

"I know we reached out a couple times and asked what was taking so long," he said. "They said they were doing everything they could to move as quickly as they could."

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