Disclaimer: All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
HARAHAN, La. (WGNO) — A woman accused of killing a Jefferson Parish kindergartener and dumping the body in front of the child’s mother’s house appeared in court on Thursday morning.
Bunnak Landon, 43, faces first-degree murder and obstruction of justice charges for the death of six-year-old Bella Fontenelle. Late last month, Landon was arrested after surveillance footage showed what appeared to be her pulling a wagon that contained a bucket, believed to contain Fontenelle’s remains. That bucket was later placed in the front yard of Fontenelle’s mother’s home.
Landon’s legal team requested a bond reduction for the obstruction of justice charge, which currently sits at $50,000. The judge approved a continuance for the hearing, where the bond will then be set.
The defense also filed for the court to give seven days’ notice prior to Landon’s grand jury hearing, and that the hearing be recorded. Both of those motions were denied.
On Wednesday, April 26, Fontenelle’s father filed missing person reports for both his six-year-old daughter and his girlfriend, Bunnak Landon, also known as Hannah Landon and Bunnak Lim.
Soon after, the Harahan Police Department began searching the area of the home, located near Donelon and Sedgefield drives. When police arrived at the nearby home of Fontenelle’s mother, they made a chilling discovery of a white ten-gallon bucket in the front yard.
The bucket contained Fontenelle’s body.
Initial findings from the parish coroner indicate the child died of manual strangulation and blunt force injuries to her head.
There was still the question of where Landon was, however, it was learned that she had made contact with HPD earlier that night. Hours before the missing person reports were filed, Landon reportedly arrived at the Harahan Police Department where she was transferred to a local hospital for evaluation.
Landon was still at the hospital as the case was unfolding, however, surveillance video from a neighbor revealed disturbing information in the investigation. Footage released by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office showed Landon wheeling a wagon containing a white plastic bucket in the direction of Fontenelle’s mother’s house — believed to be the same bucket discovered containing the deceased child.
Landon was booked on first-degree murder and obstruction of justice charges. She is set to appear in court again on June 29.
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