Disturbing US Child Sex Crimes Lead to Life Sentence
A depraved American predator will spend the rest of his life behind bars after committing horrific child sex crimes that included murder and the imprisonment of a six-year-old girl in a dirt pit with her sister's corpse.
The Night of Unimaginable Violence
On June 11, 2024, Daniel Callihan, then 37, launched a brutal attack that would shock communities across two US states. The violent offender stabbed his former partner, Callie Brunett, 35, more than fifty times before abducting her two young daughters, aged just four and six.
Callihan then drove the terrified children approximately 130 miles from their Louisiana home to Mississippi, where his crimes escalated into even more disturbing territory. According to court proceedings, Callihan sexually assaulted the four-year-old before suffocating her to death by holding her tightly against his chest.
The Discovery That Horrified Authorities
Two days after the initial attack, on June 13, 2024, a concerned relative discovered Callie's body and reported the missing girls missing. Law enforcement agencies across local, state and federal levels collaborated to track Callihan using advanced license plate reading technology.
Authorities located Callie's stolen vehicle at Callihan's Mississippi property, where they made the grim discovery of the surviving six-year-old victim. The child had been kept as a sex slave in a filthy pit alongside the remains of her younger sister, with a mattress covering their bodies.
Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens later told the court in a powerful statement: "Both children were left in a ditch to rot with a mattress covering their bodies. No child anywhere should face such a fate."
Justice Served and Shocking Excuses
Callihan eventually led officers to the wooded area where he had imprisoned the young girl, leading to his arrest. He later accepted plea deals that spared him the death penalty but ensured he would receive multiple life sentences for both federal and state charges.
In a disturbing attempt to explain his actions, Callihan bizarrely blamed his antidepressant medication, Lexapro, telling officers: "I did it. I have no reason for what I did. All I know is, I want to say I was sober and only on Lexapro... I think it was the side effects."
During his September sentencing hearing, Callie Brunett's sister, Brandi Hosch, confronted Callihan directly, describing him as a demon without a soul and expressing the family's eternal grief and anger.
The case also involves Victoria Cox, 34, who faces state charges as an accessory and is expected to stand trial in December after pleading not guilty during her pretrial hearing.
FBI Special Agent Jonathan Tapp of New Orleans confirmed that multiple law enforcement agencies worked together to ensure Daniel Callihan will never harm another child again.
