JPD chief gives update on death of mother and child

The Jackson Police Chief spoke to the media about the killing of a Louisiana mother and her three-year-old child.

Daniel Callihan, 36, is accused of killing 35-year-old Callie Brunett in Louisiana and kidnapping her two children. Authorities say he took them to Boozier Drive in Jackson, where he killed Brunett’s 3-year-old daughter.

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office

As Callihan left Jackson Police Headquarters on Thursday, he confessed to the crimes he was accused of.

“I have no reason for what I did. I just want to say that I was sober and only took Lexapro and I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder,” Callahan said.

A woman was also arrested in the case. Both Callihan and Victoria Cox are accused of murder and sexual assault. At an initial court appearance on Monday, a Hinds County Municipal Court judge denied Cox bail on the murder charge and granted him $500,000 bail on the sexual assault charge.

The Tangipahoa Parish coroner said Brunett died of multiple stab wounds at her Loranger home last week, but there were no details about the type of weapon used to stab her.

On Monday, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade spoke about the case after the arrests of Callihan and Cox.

He said they face charges here in Mississippi and Louisiana as well as at the federal level.

Wade said the investigation of the crime scene on Boozier Drive took three days. He believes Callihan knew the area because it is a dead end street and one would not normally walk down that street. Small cages and wired enclosures were found on the property, Wade said, which may indicate human trafficking.

“I think if there was one case that would definitely result in the death penalty, it would be this one, because the sight (of the little girl) dead in the woods is still etched in my mind,” Wade said.

The police chief said he believes the three-year-old girl suffocated, but that a forensic pathologist would have to determine that.

The police chief said there are more questions than answers in this case, such as why someone came to Jackson from Louisiana.

“There were so many places you could have stopped. There were so many places you could have gone, east and west, but you came here,” Wade said.

The FBI has taken over the investigation.

Dixie Hemphill said her brother, Daniel Callihan, has had problems his entire life and is a criminal mastermind. She says his actions against Brunett’s family were horrific. She says her brother dated Brunett 13 years ago.

“I met their children twice … I feel so sorry for the parents, as I do for them,” Hemphill said.

Hemphill says she contacted the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the Lincoln Sheriff’s Department about her brother’s behavior over a year ago.

She said Callihan once confessed to her that he had sexually molested a minor and that he was also involved in the death of a man who had been reported missing.

She said they didn’t take her seriously.

“I just wanted someone to take us seriously because look what happened. The Lincoln County Sheriff said it was unjustified that he killed someone, but then diagnosed him with schizophrenia and just let him go,” Hemphill said.

She said Callihan’s goal was to live a life like his father.

“He was labeled a serial killer and we even tried to tell MBI that he wanted to be his father’s prodigy and wrote his own book, only he wanted to take over from his father and that’s what he did,” Hemphill said.

The Lincoln County Sheriff said they did not ignore Hemphill’s warnings.

“One count of sexual assault was filed against him. The case was investigated and presented to a grand jury… The grand jury did not indict him on those charges,” said Sheriff Steve Rushing.

He says there is simply not enough evidence to charge Callihan on these allegations.