Second suspect arrested in kidnapping of 2 Louisiana children and death of one

JACKSON, Miss. — A second suspect was arrested Friday in connection with the kidnapping and death of a 4-year-old Louisiana girl found in Mississippi, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said.

Wade told WJTV-TV that the suspect, a 32-year-old woman, is an acquaintance of a 36-year-old man who was captured Thursday.

The woman was arrested at a South Jackson hotel through a collaborative effort between multiple law enforcement agencies, the chief said. She was transported to the Hinds County Detention Center in Raymond.

According to Wade, the 4-year-old girl was found dead in a wooded area, while her 6-year-old sister was found alive nearby and taken to a Jackson hospital.

Wade said there was evidence of possible human trafficking where the children were found, including small animal cages, and Jackson police contacted human trafficking divisions from the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and Hinds County to assess the scene.

The first person arrested, a Louisiana native who had dated the girls' mother, was the suspect in an Amber Alert in Louisiana before his arrest. Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said he was being held in the Rankin County Jail.

Louisiana State Police issued the alert after the girls' mother, Callie Brunett, 35, was found dead in her home in Loranger, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of Baton Rouge. She was reported missing after no one had spoken to her since Tuesday, according to Tangipahoa Parish Chief Deputy Sheriff Jimmy Travis. The cause of death was not immediately released.