UPDATE — Daniel Callihan appeared in federal court on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, where he changed his plea and is now pleading guilty to federal kidnapping and homicide charges. This development could take the death penalty off the table, but he still faces the possibility of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 16, 2025.
That covers the federal side of the case. In Tangipahoa Parish, where the crimes began, the district attorney is pursuing state charges for the murder of a mother and the kidnapping of her two young daughters, one of whom was later found dead in Mississippi.
He has pleaded not guilty to the state charges.
AMITE (July 2024) — Nearly a month after Daniel Callihan allegedly killed his ex-girlfriend before kidnapping her two daughters and allegedly killing one, he was in an Amite courtroom for his arraignment.
Callihan is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping of a child, one count second-degree kidnapping, one count armed robbery, one count of unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling, one count simple arson, two counts of theft of a firearm and one count of burglary of a residence.
He pleaded not guilty on July 15, 2024 to two counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated kidnapping of a child and one count second-degree kidnapping.
It was June 13, 2024 when Callie Brunett’s body was found inside her trailer in Loranger in Tangipahoa Parish. Her two daughters, ages four and six, had been kidnapped. Callihan and Victoria Cox were accused of kidnapping the girls before they were found in Jackson, MS. The four-year-old daughter was found killed. The six-year-old was injured, but alive.
On June 26th, Callihan returned to Louisiana to begin the legal process.
Callihan waived extradition after he was arrested in Jackson, MS for the murders of Callie Brunett and her four-year-old daughter Erin Brunett. He and his accomplice, Victoria Cox, are both charged with murder and sexual battery in Mississippi and facing separate charges in Louisiana. Because the crimes are across state lines, the FBI is also involved.
It’s why Callihan’s case will now proceed with facing charges in Tangipahoa Parish after a grand jury indicted him with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping of a child, and second-degree kidnapping. He could be facing additional charges from the FBI. Further details will be limited as a judge has ordered the case sealed from the public.
Joint investigation ongoing
Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating the crimes that spanned two different states including Mississippi & Louisiana agencies and the FBI. Authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the heinous murder of Callie Brunett in Louisiana, including the abduction of her two children and the killing of her four-year-old daughter, Erin.
Investigators believe that Brunett’s ex-boyfriend, Daniel Callihan, murdered her before taking off to Mississippi with her children. Officials charged Callihan and a woman named Victoria Cox with capital murder and sexual battery.
“Erin possibly died from asphyxiation”
Joseph Wade, the Police Chief of Jackson, Mississippi, stated that the cause of death for Erin is still pending, though asphyxiation is suspected.
“I would assume, and this is clearly an assumption, that Erin possibly died from asphyxiation or suffocation,” Wade said. “But we will have to wait for the medical examiner before releasing that information. I did not see any gunshot wounds or anything like that, so it appeared possibly suffocation, but that’s yet to be determined.”
Wade addressed the peculiar interaction between Callihan and the press when he was being detained. Amidst a flurry of questions, Callihan seemed to confess to the murders.
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“He’s not denying anything”
“Unfortunately, sober, no drugs in my system. I did it,” Callihan said allegedly confessing to killing Brunett. “I have no reason for what I did. All I know is I want to say I was sober and only on Lexapro. I’m also diagnosed with borderline multiple personality disorder, and I have not yet spoken to a lawyer, and I’m on suicide watch, but I’m not suicidal, but I think it’s the Lexapro.”
Wade disclosed that he could not share the entirety of his interview with Callihan but noted that Callihan’s statements to the media were consistent with what he revealed during the interrogation.
“He’s not denying anything,” Wade said. “He has implicated Cox, whom we charged as well. We feel we have a very strong case as we move forward against both of them.”
With the FBI taking the lead in the case, Wade says there should be decisions “soon” about federal charges the duo will be facing. One point to note was whether Erin was killed in Mississippi or in Louisiana. Although Wade would not go into detail, he said he believed their charges of capital murder against Callihan and Cox for the little girl’s murder, were correct.
MORE: ‘It runs in the family’: Man accused of kidnapping, killing has troubled history
“I observed small cages myself”
Cox was in a Mississippi courtroom in late June where she denied any involvement in the crimes. She said that the last time she saw the two abducted girls, they were both alive. Cox was given no bond for her capital murder charge and a $500,000 bond for the sexual battery charge. Wade anticipates Callihan will have his first court appearance this week as well.
The Police Chief declined to comment on the specifics of the sexual battery charges, which involve forced sexual contact with a victim.
“Based on our collaborative investigation, and based on (Callihan’s) statements, we felt that was the appropriate charge,” Wade said.
Regarding the human trafficking suspicions at the arrest site of Callihan and Cox, where the young girls were found, Wade confirmed the presence of small cages and other indicators suggesting potential human trafficking activities. However, no state charges related to human trafficking have been filed yet.
“I observed small cages myself, these small wire enclosures, and there were other things that led us to believe that it was a possible location where human trafficking could happen or transpire. We don’t have any state charges yet in reference to that. There may be some additional charges as I speak with NBI and our federal partners as we move forward. But that crime scene was worked very thoroughly. It was worked extensively by multiple agencies, our units, NBI, and the FBI, so if there’s anything that was found, we will be able to disclose that in the future.”
“I still have imprinted in my head the sight of that four-year-old in the woods, dead”
DONATE NOW TO BRUNETT FAMILY HERE.
Wade confirmed that state and federal officials completed the crime scene investigation in Jackson on Saturday.
“We started working this crime scene on Thursday, and we did not finish processing that crime scene until Saturday afternoon,” Wade said during a news conference Monday. “We held that crime scene for three days, processing that crime scene. We normally don’t take three days to process a scene.”
When asked about the extradition of the suspects back to Louisiana and the possibility of this being a death penalty case, Wade was forthright.
“I think that if there’s a case that would definitely rise to the level of the death penalty, this should be it because I still have imprinted in my head the sight of that four-year-old in the woods, dead.
“The city of Jackson, state of Louisiana, and the whole Gulf South region is a better place because those two are behind bars. Because a threat to those two young, beautiful children is a threat to all children. That could happen to anyone’s child, what they did to those children, so to hold them accountable for their actions is our number one priority.
“It’s very hurtful as a police chief and as a father to see that done to those beautiful children. I don’t have a motive except that he’s a bad actor, he’s a bad guy, he’s a bad person, she’s a bad person, and I guess that’s the motive. They’re bad people doing bad things.”
MORE: ‘Did you see anything?’ | FBI requests public’s help in Brunett case
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