Daniel Callihan pleads guilty to Loranger kidnapping in deal that spares his life

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Daniel Callihan, the man accused of killing a Loranger mother and her 4-year-old daughter in June 2024, and kidnapping the girl’s sister to Mississippi, pleaded guilty Wednesday (Aug. 6) to federal charges resulting in a life sentence.

Callihan pleaded guilty to kidnapping resulting in death and transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Under terms of the plea agreement, federal prosecutors will not seek the death penalty, and Callihan agrees to accept “a minimum term of life imprisonment.”

He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 19 by U.S. District Judge Lance Africk.

“Today’s resolution ensures that Daniel Wayne Callihan will be held accountable for his heinous and atrocious crimes,” acting US Attorney Michael Simpson said in a statement.

Callihan, 37, was arrested after 35-year-old Callie Brunett’s stabbed body was found in her Loranger home on June 13, 2024. Her two young daughters were abducted and found hours later in Mississippi, one dead and the other alive, authorities said.

The body of 4-year-old Erin Brunett was found by US Marshals and police in a wooded area south of Jackson, Miss., about three hours after the initial crime scene was discovered in Loranger. The girl’s 6-year-old sister was found injured nearby. Prosecutors said she had been sexually abused by Callihan and alleged accomplice Victoria Cox.

Callihan agreed in court documents that he was inside Callie Brunett’s home and stabbed the woman more than 50 times, resulting in her death, then kidnapped her daughters and drove to McComb, Miss. He also admitted he then drove the children to Amite, where he picked up Cox, before returning to a residence in Jackson, Miss. Both are accused of sexually abusing the older girl in Mississippi, and Callihan acknowledges suffocating the younger girl there.

State cases against Callihan for crimes committed in Tangipahoa Parish and in Mississippi are unaffected by his federal plea agreement and are ongoing. Africk, however, indicated sentencing on the state charges should come before the federal sentence is imposed.

Callihan remains charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Tangipahoa Parish, where District Attorney Scott Perrilloux previously indicated the death penalty will be sought. Callihan also faces kidnapping and sexual battery counts in Mississippi.

Callihan’s attorney Kerry Cuccia said Wednesday he does not expect his client to face the death penalty in either state.

Cox also faces murder and kidnapping charges across the two states.

Related coverage

• Man accused of killing Loranger mother and child found competent to stand trial
• Second arrest made in connection to murder of woman, 4-year-old
• Loranger mom died of ‘sharp force injuries,’ daughter likely suffocated, officials say
• Daniel Callihan’s criminal history revealed in Tangipahoa Parish records
• ‘I did it:’ Man admits to killing child, mother; welcomes death penalty
• One of two missing Louisiana girls found dead in Jackson after mother ‘brutally slain;’ suspect arrested

In the aftermath of Callihan’s June 2024 arrest, he called for the death penalty for himself.

On Wednesday, Cuccia said he’d changed and prepared to take “responsibility.”

“That was 14 months ago. I think you saw Daniel Callihan that day in the condition he was in. For the last 14 months he’s been in a secure environment where he’s been getting good nutrition, he’s been getting proper medication and you saw a completely different man today,” he said.

Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade described the scene as “horrible” and “tragic,” and said he believed the area where the girls were found might have been linked to human trafficking.

Callihan, while being transported to the Rankin County (Miss.) jail on the night of his arrest, confessed to the crime to television reporters.

“Sober, no drugs in my system, I did it,” he said. “I have no reason for what I did. All I want to say is that I was sober and only on LexaPro – and off LexaPro – and I’m also diagnosed with borderline multiple personality disorder.”

This developing story will be updated.

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