Abducted child found dead, sister injured in suspected human trafficking case, authorities say – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) — A Louisiana man arrested for the murder of a woman and her young daughter may have had an accomplice, the Jackson Police Department announced Friday.

The suspect, Daniel Callahan, 36, was arrested Thursday after a 35-year-old mother was found dead and her two abducted daughters were later found in Mississippi – one dead and the other alive – in what investigators believe could be a case of human trafficking. Callahan's alleged accomplice, Victoria Cox, 32, was arrested Friday at a south Jackson motel, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said.

Callihan is accused of “committing brutal and heinous acts of violence,” including the murder of Callie Brunett and her 4-year-old daughter, said the sheriff's office in Tangipahoa Parish, just north of New York. Orleans.

Cox is being questioned and police said they are trying to determine her exact role in the incident. “Based on the information I received yesterday and early this morning, she is an acquaintance and possibly a girlfriend of Mr. Callahan,” Wade said.

Jackson investigators said the wooded neighborhood where the girls were found had signs the place could have been used for human trafficking, including cages for small animals.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragic event. These are unspeakable crimes,” Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards said in a social media post. “We ask everyone to keep Callie's family in your prayers.”

Earlier Thursday, an Amber Alert was issued for Brunett's abducted daughters, ages 4 and 6, after the mother was found dead in her home, according to Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office Chief Jimmy Travis .

After hours of searching, law enforcement in Jackson, Mississippi — about a two-hour drive from Tangipahoa — found the suspect and discovered a “tragic scene,” Wade said.

After a short chase, Callihan was arrested in a wooded area near a home and the 4-year-old's body was found unburied in the woods behind the home, according to Wade. The other sister was found injured and taken to hospital.

“It's very, very disturbing for me as a police chief and as a father to witness and see what I just saw,” Wade said of the scene.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death, Wade said Friday.

Due to signs of “human trafficking” at the scene, Jackson authorities contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Hinds County human trafficking divisions, Wade said.

“We’re going to work this crime scene with a scalpel,” he said. “It’s going to take a long time to process it.”

Many questions remain, Wade said, including why Callihan would take the children to Jackson and why the child was killed.

Although Callihan had not yet been interviewed as of Thursday evening, investigators believe the suspect lives in Louisiana and has dated Brunett “on and off,” Travis said. When the Amber Alert was issued Thursday, it said a man, later identified as Callihan, was wanted “for questioning regarding an incident of domestic violence that occurred around the time of the kidnapping and resulted in a homicide.”

Investigators' top priority will be interviewing Callihan and caring for the surviving 6-year-old victim, Travis said.

“She experienced something that most of us hopefully never get to experience. And she’s going to have to spend the rest of her life living with that,” the chief said.

Police said Cox was compliant during her arrest and will be held accountable for her actions during “this horrific event.”

“She could potentially face capital murder charges with him or being an accomplice before or after the fact,” Wade said. “We must bring justice for the loss of this child. »

CNN has contacted the Jackson Police Department and the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office for more information.

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