A 37-year-old man in Louisiana will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to a pair of federal charges for killing a 35-year-old mother in her mobile home and kidnapping her two young daughters, one of whom died. Daniel Callihan formally pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of kidnapping that resulted in death and one count of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, authorities said.
Callihan faces a mandatory life sentence on the first count and ten years to life on the second count. He could also face a fine of up to $500,000. In exchange for pleading guilty, federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Louisiana agreed not to pursue the death penalty.
Victoria Cox, his girlfriend and alleged co-conspirator in the kidnappings and killings, has been indicted in Mississippi on a capital murder charge and could face the death penalty.
According to Law&Crime, the case came to light in June 2024, when Callie Brunett was discovered dead in her locked mobile home in Loranger, about an hour north of New Orleans, a day after being reported missing. The victim received over 50 stab wounds to her head, neck, chest, abdomen, and back. Brunett lived in the house with her two young daughters, 4-year-old Erin Brunett and her 6-year-old sister, who were both missing.
Prosecutors claim that on the night of June 12, 2024, Callihan killed Brunett and kidnapped both girls in Brunett’s car before driving to pick up Cox, crossing state lines, and bringing the victims to a home in the 3900 block of Boozier Drive in Jackson, Mississippi. Authorities reported that Callihan and Brunett had previously dated.
Prosecutors stated that Callihan and Cox “engaged in sexual battery” with Brunett’s 6-year-old daughter. Callihan then “purposefully suffocated [Erin] to death by holding Minor Victim 1 closely against his chest,” prosecutors said in a press release. Following his arrest, Callihan admitted to killing Brunett and Erin, as well as sexually assaulting Erin’s sister.
On July 13, 2024, authorities discovered Erin’s body in a wooded area near her Mississippi home. Her sister was discovered alive nearby and taken to a hospital for treatment.
According to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office in Louisiana and the Jackson Police Department in Mississippi, the crime scene where the children were discovered may have been linked to human trafficking.
“We see cages—small animal cages,” Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said. “This is very, very disturbing to me as a police chief and as a father to witness and see what I saw.”
Following his arrest in Mississippi, Callihan confessed to reporters as he was led away in handcuffs and a yellow jail jumpsuit. He provided no explanation for the bloodshed and requested to die by lethal injection.
“Unfortunately, on Lexapro, sober, no drugs in my system, I did,” he told reporters when questioned about the girl’s death. “I have no explanation for what I did. All I want to say is that I was sober and only on Lexapro — and now off Lexapro — and that I’ve been diagnosed with borderline multiple personality disorder.
“For what I did, lethal injection is the easiest thing for me,” he explained as he sat in the back of a police car.
Callihan is scheduled to be formally sentenced on November 19.
