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Mississippi officials say they're actively investigating the kidnapping, death of 4-year-old Loranger girl
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JACKSON, Miss. — Officials in Mississippi are still actively investigating the deaths of a Loranger woman and her 4-year-old daughter, representatives from multiple agencies said at the state public safety headquarters Monday afternoon.
Representatives from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Jackson Police Department, Hinds County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney's Office and U.S. Marshals provided scant new information about the case, at the 3 p.m. press conference.
Much of what was shared at the press conference, including the murder and sexual battery charges Danial Callihan and Victoria Cox face in the state, was information law enforcement previously shared.
One of the hanging threads in the death of 4-year-old Erin Brunett is whether she was killed in Louisiana or Mississippi. When asked about this, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade only said that he believed the charges Cox and Callihan face are accurate.
"(Erin) was dead in the woods here in the city of Jackson. And we're gonna hold him and Ms. Cox accountable for that here in the city of Jackson," Wade said.
WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE HERE.
Callihan and Cox were indicted in Tangipahoa Parish on Thursday. Callihan faces two counts of first-degree murder, as well as one count each of aggravated kidnapping of a child and second-degree kidnapping; Cox was indicted on one count each of first-degree murder, accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping of a child and second-degree kidnapping.
Callihan is accused of killing Callie Brunett in her Loranger home, while both Cox and Callihan are accused in the killing of 4-year-old Erin Brunett, whose body was found in Jackson, Mississippi. Prosecutors would say where they believe Erin Brunett was killed.
First-degree murder is punishable by life in prison or execution, if prosecutors choose to go that route and a jury and a judge agree. Aggravated kidnapping of a child also carries a mandatory life sentence.
Callihan is accused of killing Callie Brunett, 35, in her home and stealing her car and her two daughters Erin and Jalie Brunett, 6, and taking off with Cox. Erin was found dead in Mississippi but prosecutors Thursday would not say where she may have died. Jalie was injured and taken to the hospital. She was released on June 14 and returned to Tangipahoa Parish with her grandparents.
Both Callihan and Cox were arrested in Mississippi and face capital murder and sexual battery accusations in Jackson. Prosecutors there have not said whether they would seek their execution but Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said last week it would be an appropriate penalty.
When Callihan was arrested in Mississippi, he said had no reason for what he did, claiming to be sober at the time of the killing and kidnapping.
"I would kill me...I have told [police] everything I did, and I have agreed to not fight it," Callihan said then. "For what I did? Lethal injection is the easiest thing for me."
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