A Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to a horrifying crime that left a mother and her young daughter dead and another child injured.

Daniel Wayne Callihan admitted to killing 35-year-old Callie Brunett in her Loranger, Louisiana, home in June 2024 before kidnapping her two daughters, ages 4 and 6, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Authorities said Callihan stabbed Callie more than 50 times before abducting the girls. He later admitted to the stabbing. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office had previously confirmed Callie and Callihan were in an on-and-off relationship.

An intense manhunt ended in tragedy when police found 4-year-old Erin Brunett’s body in a wooded area of Mississippi. Her 6-year-old sister was rescued from the same location with injuries. In a video after his arrest, Callihan told a reporter he had “unfortunately” killed Erin.

Callihan’s plea deal spares him the death penalty. He is expected to receive a life sentence in November for kidnapping resulting in death, plus at least 10 years for transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity.

Family and friends remembered Erin as a “little fireball” full of life, inseparable from her mom. A GoFundMe set up in the aftermath described Callie and her daughters as “a couple of peas in a pod.”

2 thoughts on “Man Pleads Guilty to Brutal Murder of Mom and 4-Year-Old in Chilling Kidnapping Case”
  1. “Callihan’s plea deal spares him the death penalty. He is expected to receive a life sentence in November for kidnapping resulting in death.”
    I’m still waiting for a local prosecutor anywhere in the United States who declines a plea deal like this and says, “We are going for the death penalty. There will be no plea deals by this office.”

Leave a Reply