Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
PLAQUEMINES PARISH, La. (WGNO) — The man accused in the murder and kidnapping of a Loranger mother and her daughter is now in Louisiana custody.
On Thursday, June 13, 6-year-old Jalie and 3-year-old Erin Brunett were abducted following the death of their mother, Callie Brunett.
The accused, Daniel Callihan, has been in custody in Mississippi since his arrest.
Callihan is accused of stabbing Callie Brunett to death at her Loranger home and abducting Jalie and Erin after.
Callie, who had been reported missing just 24 hours prior, was found by her father in the bedroom of home, according to the Tangipahoa Parish Coroner’s Office. Erin, who was found dead in a wooded area in Jackson, Mississippi, died of asphyxiation due to suffocation.
On June 24, Callihan agreed in a Mississippi court to be extradited to Louisiana, where he is being held in federal custody at the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center.
“The completed crimes took place in Mississippi, but some of the elements of those crimes were here in Louisiana. So, Louisiana is going to take precedence in all likelihood. The trial will take place in Louisiana and as evidence of that, Mississippi has already deferred to Louisiana,” said WGNO legal analyst Cliff Cardone.
Callihan is being held in Plaquemines Parish rather than Tangipahoa Parish due to contracts between the U.S. Marshall’s Office and Plaquemines Parish, which dictates that federal inmates are housed there. It is still possible, however, that he will be moved after his trials begin.
“Well, it’s complicated, but I don’t know if it’s particularly difficult. It’s going to be a degree of cooperation between the authorities in Louisiana and the federal government and they’ll iron out the details over time,” said Cardone.
It is still unknown whether or not Callihan will be held separately while at the Plaquemines Parish Detention Center, although U.S. Marshals say that it is normally the case for suspects who have been accused of killing children.
Cardone provided an explanation for the practice, saying “Prosecutors detest child murders. Well guess what? Inmates detest child murders too. So, they might be a likelihood of some sort of retaliation or revenge that could take place in the prison itself where an inmate could harm this particular individual. That happens frequently.”
There is no update on the status of his alleged accomplice, Victoria Cox, who was also arrested in Mississippi.
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