Woman indicted for capital murder by grand jury regarding abducted child found dead in Mississippi woods

A Mississippi grand jury has indicted a woman on charges of capital murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery in connection with the abduction of two Louisiana girls, which ended tragically with the death of one of them in Mississippi.

Victoria Cox, 32, was indicted by the Hinds County Grand Jury in its June term. Both Cox and Daniel Callihan, 36, will face trials in both Mississippi and Louisiana in the case.

Callihan is suspected of killing Callie Brunett, 35, in Loranger, Louisiana, in June. Tangipahoa Parish Coroner Rick Foster reported that Brunett died from “multiple sharp force injuries,” including stab wounds to her head, neck, chest, abdomen, and back, as well as defensive wounds to her arms. Her body was discovered by her father inside her locked mobile home after being reported missing by her parents.

Erin Brunett, 3, was found later found deceased in a wooded area off Boozier Drive on Thursday, June 13. Her sister, 6-year-old Jalie Brunett, was taken to a Jackson hospital for treatment and later released. Brunett is believed to have died from asphyxiation due to suffocation.

Authorities issued an Amber Alert for the two girls after their mother was killed in Loranger. Evidence of possible human trafficking was found at the location on Boozier Drive, including small animal cages. Jackson police contacted the Human Trafficking Divisions of the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Hinds County to assess the scene, which was processed for three days.

Callihan and Cox were arrested in Jackson.

Jackson officials announced that Callihan has implicated Cox in the case. Both were previously charged with capital murder and sexual battery in Mississippi. In Louisiana, Callihan faces charges of two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping of a child, and second-degree kidnapping, while Cox faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping of a child, second-degree kidnapping, and accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. Callihan has been extradited to Louisiana.