The Murder of Callie Brunett and Her Daughter Erin Brunett
Callie Brunett & Erin Brunett
Callie Brunett
| Location | Loranger, Louisiana |
| Children | 2 Daughters -- Erin (4) and Jalie (6) |
| Cause of Death | Multiple Stab Wounds -- 50 times |
Erin Brunett
| Age | 4 Years Old |
| Location | Found in Jackson, Mississippi |
| Cause of Death | Suffocation |
Callie Brunett lived in Loranger, Louisiana with her two young daughters, Erin, age 4, and Jalie, age 6. Her family described her as someone who loved being a mom. Callie and her daughters were peas in a pod. She was a fighter who fought until her last breath.
Erin Brunett was four years old. Her aunt described her as a sassy girl who adored her grandparents. She was kidnapped from her home alongside her older sister, taken across state lines, and murdered in the woods behind a house in Jackson, Mississippi. She was four years old.
Jalie, age 6, survived. She was reunited with her family. She lost her mother and her little sister in a single night. Her family has vowed she will never have to see Daniel Callihan again.
What We Know
Callie Brunett lived in Loranger, Louisiana with her two young daughters, 4-year-old Erin and 6-year-old Jalie. Daniel Callihan, 38, had known Callie for approximately 20 years before the attack. On the evening of June 12, 2024, he went to her home and stabbed her approximately 50 times. Once she was dead, he took both of her daughters and drove away.
Callihan picked up his friend Victoria Cox and they drove to a house on Boozier Drive in Jackson, Mississippi. During that time, Callihan sexually abused the older surviving child, Jalie. Cox's indictment stated she aided Callihan in penetrative and oral sex acts against the child. Cox later told the court she had taken the children to get food and when she brought them back she enabled Callihan to do what he did.
Callihan decided to kill Erin. He took both children into the woods behind the house and suffocated 4-year-old Erin by holding her face tightly to his chest until she stopped breathing. Cox was present and admitted she knew the murder was taking place. He told police he had planned to keep Jalie as his own sex slave.
Callihan told reporters as he was being arrested -- sober, no drugs in my system, I did it. For what I did, lethal injection is the easiest thing for me. Jalie was found alive and reunited with her family in Louisiana.
How It Unfolded
The Investigation
When Callie's parents found her body and discovered her daughters were missing, law enforcement launched an immediate multistate investigation. An AMBER Alert was issued naming Callihan as the suspect. Police requested data from license plate readers and were able to place Callie's suspected vehicle in Byram, Mississippi.
Investigators tracked Callihan to a McDonald's on Delaware Avenue in Decomb, Mississippi where surveillance footage showed him changing a car tire with two small children present. The same day, Callihan messaged his sister from Callie's Facebook account telling her he had done something bad and asking her to send gas money to his Cash App. His sister immediately contacted authorities.
Police located Callihan on Terry Road in Jackson that afternoon. As officers were apprehending him, civilians in the area told police they had heard children screaming in the woods behind a house on Boozier Drive. Officers responded and found Erin deceased and Jalie alive. Callihan confessed on camera to reporters as he was being arrested.
During interviews with investigators, Callihan admitted he had been wanting to kill Callie for some time. He described the events in detail and told police he had planned to keep Jalie as his own sex slave. Cox was interviewed separately and provided her account of the events, though she claimed she had tried to stop Callihan and did not initially know the children were not with him lawfully.
The Accused
They Are Not Forgotten
Callie Brunett loved being a mom. She and her daughters were peas in a pod. She was a fighter who fought until her last breath. She deserved to grow old watching her girls grow up.
Erin Brunett was four years old. She was sassy and adored her grandparents. She was taken from her home in the middle of the night by a man she did not know, driven across state lines, and killed in the woods. She was four years old.
Jalie survived. She carries with her the weight of what she witnessed. Her family has surrounded her with love and vowed she will never have to see the man who took her mother and sister ever again. We will say Callie's name and Erin's name together, always. They were peas in a pod. They belong together in memory.
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