Official cause of death released in the case of Harahan child homicide

HARVEY, La. (WGNO) — The Jefferson Parish Coroner’s Office has released the official results of an autopsy report performed on the juvenile victim in Wednesday’s homicide.

According to Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, on Wednesday, April 26, he and a team of experts performed an autopsy on 6-year-old Bella Fontenelle which the results listed the official cause of death as “manual strangulation along with blunt force injuries to the head.”.

The results come after Fontenelle’s remains were discovered inside of a bucket in the front yard of her mother’s Harahan home.

 “Dr. Dana Troxclair, Dr. Mike Defatta along with JPCO staff performed the autopsy with dignity and respect. A decision was made yesterday to not initially release details on the mechanism of death for two reasons. First, to allow law enforcement the opportunity to interview their suspect before the release of any information. More importantly, we wanted to share the results with the family before releasing it to the public. media,” said Dr. Cvitanovich

Background information

On Wednesday morning (April 26), Bella Fontenelle’s father filed a missing person’s report for his 6-year-old daughter and his girlfriend 43-year-old Hannah Landon.

Soon after, the Harahan Police Department began their search and investigation at the man’s home on Donelon Drive. Officers quickly learned that Bella’s mother lived around the corner on Sedgefield Drive. When they arrived, officers discovered what they described as a large plastic bucket in the front yard.

Lopinto said the girl’s remains were located inside a bucket and the case quickly turned into a homicide investigation. Both of the child’s parents were interviewed and cleared therefore turning the authorities’ attention to Landon (also known as Bunnak Lim or Bunnak Landon) — who officers unknowingly had contact with earlier that morning.

Hours before the investigation, Landon reportedly arrived at the Harahan Police Department where she was transferred to a local hospital for evaluation.

Surveillance video obtained from a neighbor showed Landon reportedly pulling a wagon with a bucket inside along Donelon and Sedgefield drives possibly containing the remains of Fontenella. 

Disclaimer: The attached video might be disturbing to watch

Bunnak Landon was arrested and is now booked in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on charges of First Degree Murder and Obstruction of Justice.