Judge Slams Sadistic Killer for Brutal Crime Spree

I thought about this many many times. What will I say? Will it really make an. impact to a monster, a predator, a. murderer, a rapist, a thief, a coward? I. hope every time when you close your. eyes, your mind is filled with. nightmares and you never have rest. >> Harsh words for the killer of a. Louisiana mother who took her two young. daughters to another state before. murdering one of them as well. Daniel. Callahan admitted to his crimes in open. court and then had to listen as the.

judge and the victim's sister bered him. for his cruel and senseless actions. We're going to take a look at some of. the biggest moments from Callahan's. guilty plea and sentencing hearing with. a criminal defense attorney who has. experience in this area to get some. insight into what it must have felt like. inside that courtroom. Welcome to. Sidebar presented by Law and Crime. I'm. Jesse Weber. Daniel Wayne Callahan will spend the. rest of his life in prison. And. honestly, he should. Why? Because he. committed a series of unthinkable.

crimes. He stabbed a former lover to. death, kidnapped her two daughters who. were only four and 6 years old, took. them across state lines from Louisiana. to Mississippi before taking the. four-year-old's life as well. An Amber. Alert was issued for Erin and Jaye after. their mom, Cali Brunette, was found dead. in her Landre, Louisiana home in June of. 2024. According to the Clarion Ledger, Callie was found by her father on the. floor of her bedroom inside of a locked. mobile home. Horrifically, the Ledger.

reports that Callie had been stabbed. approximately 50 times. Coroner noting. stab wounds to her head, neck, chest, abdomen, back, defense wounds on her. arms, and those girls were nowhere to be. found. But then Jackson police say both. girls were found on June 13th, 2024, more than 120 miles away from that first. crime scene. Jaye was found alive but. hurt. The Clarion Ledger reports that. tragically her younger sister Erin was. found dead just a few feet away from his. fixiation. Police Chief Joseph Wade.

delivered the somber update to the. media. >> Tragic scene that we're working here at. South Jackson. Jackson police officer. were called to 3950 Booger to assist the. US Marshalss. They have been looking for. an individual wanted out of Louisiana, Mr. Callahan. After a short pursuit, they made contact. with him and he's now in custody. As you. know, a Amber Alert was issued for two.

young children that were supposedly with. him. Mr. Callahan is also a suspect in a. homicide that happened in Tangabo. Parish, Louisiana. Upon a search of the. area by Jackson police officers, they. located a deceased child in the woods. We suspect that to be one of the. children that he had in his possession. that he had illegally taken away from uh. Tangabo Parish in Louisiana. the one of. the child, the six-year-old, my.

understanding, has been taken to the. hospital to receive treatment, but my. understanding the four-year-old is. deceased in the woods. We're still. trying to determine the manner of death, but we have a very active scene here. right now, very traumatic scene, very. tragic scene, the death of a 4-year-old. child, but the suspect is in custody. Now we have that suspect. That suspect. who would end up facing charges in two. states as well as federal court was. identified as Daniel Callahan who the.

Clarion Ledger says had been in an onag. again off-again relationship with Cali. Now if we go back to Jaye when she was. found she was rushed to a hospital and. eventually she was reunited with family. members. But as multiple law enforcement. agencies dug further into this case, they discover just how much this. six-year-old had endured. And by the. way, I should say what she has to. continue to endure. She has the loss of. her mother and sister. Now, a factual. basis document that was filed by the. federal government as part of Callahan.

agreeing to plead guilty states the. following. quote, "The government would. further prove through the introduction. of forensic and digital evidence, eyewitness testimony, and the testimony. of medical professionals that on or. about June 12th, 2024, Callahan traveled. from Mcome, Mississippi to Ame, Louisiana within the Eastern District of. Louisiana in adult victim 1's vehicle. for the purpose of picking up. co-conspirator one." We're going to talk. about that. Minor victim 1 and minor. victim 2 were present in the vehicle. Once in Amit, Callahan connected with.

co-conspirator one. Callahan and. co-conspirator one then drove minor. victim one and minor victim two in the. vehicle Callahan stole from adult victim. one to a residence located at 3950. Boozier Drive Jackson, Mississippi. That. co-conspirator, by the way, is Victoria. Cox. According to state and federal. prosecutors, both Cox and Callahan. sexually abused this six-year-old girl. in a hotel. Callahan admitted that he. then suffocated the four-year-old. And. to make matters worse, the allegation.

was she was suffocated while she was. crying for her mother. Sickening to talk. about. Now, these girls were found in a. wooded area. Aaron was dead. Jaye was. injured. And according to Jackson's. police chief, there was possible. evidence of human trafficking found at. the scene, including small animal cages. According to WJTV, Jackson police. contacted the human trafficking. divisions of the Mississippi Bureau of. Investigation and also Hines County to. assess the scene. It took them three. days to fully process it. And ahead of.

his trials, Callahan was eager to speak. with reporters. >> Unfortunately, on Lex Pro, sober, no drugs in my. system, I did. >> Why? >> Why did you kill the three-year-old. girl? I have no reason for what I did. All I. know is I want to say I was sober and. only on Lexi Pro and off Lexi Pro and.

I'm also diagnosed borderline myth of m. multiple personality disorder and I have. not got to talk to a lawyer and I'm on. suicide watch but I'm not suicidal. >> But I think it's the. I think it was the side effects of the. Lexapro. >> Did you kill her mom? Um, irresponsible. >> I'm at ranking county jail like a. interview. >> Do you regret what you did? >> Completely. >> You regret what you did. >> I would kill me and I'm going to I am uh.

I have told them everything that I did. and I have agreed. to not fight it. Speedy trial and the uh. or whatever it is. >> You hope for the death penalty. >> for what I did. Lethal injection is the. easiest thing for me. >> Yeah. So, Lexapro is an anti-depressant. used to treat depression, anxiety. It's. unclear why Callahan referred to it. specifically, but Callahan's apparent. wish for the death penalty. That would.

not come true. No. Instead, he entered a. guilty plea in both Louisiana and. Mississippi courts, plus federal court. He's going to spend the rest of his life. in prison, which I will tell you is not. going to be easy. Now, we wanted to. bring this case to you, and the reason. that we can do that is because of the. support that we get from Morgan and. Morgan, America's largest injury law. firm, our sponsor. This is a firm with. over a,000 attorneys. You know why. they're so big? Because they win a lot. They have recovered over $25 billion for. more than 500,000 clients. Think about. that. In the past few months, a client.

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claim at forthepeople.com/lcsidebar. by clicking the link below or scanning. the QR code on screen. In a federal court in New Orleans in. early August, he pleaded guilty to. charges of kidnapping resulting in. death, transportation of a minor with. the intent to engage in criminal sexual. activity. In exchange for his plea deal, the federal government agreed not to. seek the death penalty. So then on. Friday, September 26th, he entered a. guilty plea to firstdegree murder out in. Louisiana State Court. The following.

Monday, he plead guilty to capital. murder, sexual battery, two counts of. kidnapping. We're going to talk about. this. Okay. So, we're going to talk. about just this horrific case. We're. going to examine what the judge, the. defendant, the victim's family had to. say during sentencing. And I want to do. it with criminal defense attorney. Mauricio Padilla. Mauricio, thank you so. much for coming back here uh on Sidebar. This is just a terrible case. This is. just a terrible story. And one of the. things that makes this case so chilling. is how easily it seems Callahan was able.

to commit some of the most brutal crimes. that we've talked about all at once. by. the way, and you have this kind of. nonchalant response to the whole thing. What's your take on it? >> I mean, I know one of his one of his. responses was like, "No, I was on Lexa. Pro. I'm sober. I I did it." It it it's. it's pretty shocking that a state like. Louisiana gave him this deal. when. you're looking at crimes that are this. shocking, this perverse in a state like. Louisiana, I think that good lawyering. came into play or something because I.

would have expected them to press the. death penalty in a case like this. >> You mentioned lawyering. So, Callahan's. attorney, Carrie Cuchia, told reporters. in early August that, you know what, Callahan, he was prepared to take. responsibility, saying, quote, "That was. 14 months ago. I think you saw Daniel. Callahan that day in the condition he. was in. For the last 14 months, he's. been in a secure environment where he's. been getting good nutrition. He's been. getting proper medication. And you saw a. completely different man today. What's.

your reaction to that? >> People People don't care. People If you. kill a child, I mean, that's worse than. killing a police officer. If you kill a. child, the majority of people want you. dead. Period. They don't want you to get. life. There's the majority of people are. upset at this story. The majority of. people are upset at the fact that he. avoided a death penalty. I'm a criminal. defense attorney. I've had to represent. people that are faced with the death. penalty. So, I am against the death. penalty, but I'm the exception. And I. think in a state like like Louisiana, I'm imagining that they're getting a lot.

of push back from people that think that. the only fair sentence for someone that. committed the horrific crimes that he. did is to die. Now, I'll tell you this. He's going to be doing life in a maximum. security prison in the worst place in. the United States. Being in prison in. Louisiana is horrific. And it's way. worse than being in prison in my opinion. in any other state. I have had clients. that have pled through federal charges. just to try to avoid state charges in. Louisiana. So it's known as being a. really difficult place to do your time. And when you're doing your time and your.

time includes the brutal murder of a. young child, your life is never going to. be really be safe, especially in a place. like Louisiana. >> I was going to get to the sentence, but. actually why is that? It just the. conditions are so bad. It's violent. Um, by the way, oh no, by the way, no, no. one, like you said, no one's going to be. having sympathy for this guy, but just. curious, why is it so bad there? >> Well, I mean, okay, first of all, Louisiana has, you know, is is like I. think number three right now in murders,

but historically it was number one. I'm. talking about for like decades, it was. it had the worst crime rate. So, you. have a jail that's overpop populated and. it's overpop populated with violent. crime. So, they have the most murders, they have the most murderers, budget. restrictions. Louisiana is not a rich. state by any means. It's one of the more. impoverished states. So that trickles. down to the correction system. So if you. have a state that's already struggling. to make ends meet and you're you end up. in jail there, it's not a comfortable. place to be in. In addition, it's a hard.

place and it's a place where I don't. think that the corrections officers are. going to have much sympathy or, you. know, or even like care what really. happens to this guy. I I will be shocked. if uh if he does his time without any. type of repercussions from other. inmates. >> So, let's talk about what happened to. this guy. Okay, let's take a closer look. at what happened in a Jackson, Mississippi courtroom on September 29th. Now, I'm going to warn you, the audio. from the courtroom is not the best. quality, but take a listen to this first. part. [Music].

>> The truth, the whole truth. >> Yes, ma'am. I do know there is no rocket. of appeal of a guilty plea and that the. judgment of this court would be the. final judgment. Do you understand? >> Yes, sir. >> The court wants to ask, have you. received any threats? Has anyone forced. you or coerced you or promised you. anything to plead guilty on today? >> No. Now, Mauricio, a couple things. there. As she's reading him his rights.

and making sure he understands what it. means to enter into a guilty plea, why. is that so significant? Have you ever. seen a situation before where it looks. like, you know, on the record, on paper, you have a criminal defendant who. accepted a guilty plea, admitted guilt, but then later down the road, you have. attorneys who say, "Hey, he didn't. really know what he was giving up. He. wasn't properly informed by his. attorney. He wasn't properly informed by. the court." I mean, have you ever seen a. guilty plea actually be reversed?

>> Um, in I personally haven't done it, but. I've seen people attempt to do it and. I've seen people actually do it. It's. popular in the sense that a lot of. people try and um absolve themselves of. guilty p when they're trying to deal. with immigration consequences. So, some. people are like, "You plead guilty 5. years ago to a felony and all of a. sudden they want to deport you for it.". So, it's popular to see people try and. go back and say, "Hey, I didn't know. what I was pleading to." So then there's. a string of cases that that came out of. and I think it's actually my last name.

It's I think it's Pia was was one of was. the defendant. But after that case. judges at least in Florida really. started to tighten up the colloquy. So. now when they ask you the series of. questions it includes do you know that. if you plead guilty you will be. deported. In federal cases it's the. same. They they want to take as much. time as they can to ask you every single. question about whether you're under. duress, whether anybody's promised you. anything, whether you know that there's. immigration consequences. They want to. check off all the boxes to avoid someone.

in the future saying, "I didn't know. this particular subject matter regarding. my guilty plea and because I didn't know. it, I should have my guilty plea taken. away." Now, when you're dealing with a. murder, when you're dealing with capital. crime where you can get the death. penalty, all of that is enhanced because. they really want to make sure that that. you can't, you know, later on try and. challenge your your guilty plea because. of the severity of the crime. >> By the way, talk to me what it's like. being in a courtroom during a guilty. plea. I imagine that it's incredibly. intense, especially if loved ones of the.

victim are present. But I also have to. imagine there what there's a sense of. relief. This chapter's coming to an end. you don't go to trial. It might be. relief uh for a defendant, for family. members. Talk to me about what it's like. to be in a courtroom for that. >> Listen, it's it's difficult in the sense. that usually if you're if you're doing a. guilty plea and your client was looking. at at the death penalty, really the most. difficult thing is the victims and the. victim's family. Because even if you're. a criminal defense attorney and you're. representing somebody that's charged. with a horrific crime, we're human. And.

when you look at them, you can tell, first of all, there's no closure. When. someone's family members are murdered. and they're victimized like that, a. guilty plea or even someone getting. killed by the state, like a actual. execution, that really doesn't bring. solace, you know. So, you come face to. face with the reality of these people. are suffering and they're suffering just. like they were suffering the day that. this murder occurred. So, for me, the. most difficult thing is not my my my. client, but having to observe that that. pain is still out there and that pain.

still exists. That's that's pretty much. the most difficult part. Now, I've had. to do guilty p where, you know, my. clients were, you know, jumping on a. life sentence or they're they're, you. know, then their families are are. present. And I'm not saying that it's. that it's easy when you're dealing with. my own clients and their families, but. really the most difficult part for. everybody, for the judge, for the. prosecutor, for criminal defense, is. coming face to face with the pain of the. family. >> Now, I want to be clear about something. Even though this judge is reading him. his rights and making sure he. understands, as she questioned Callahan. before imposing the sentence, Judge.

Deborah Gibbs didn't hold back. She told. him that this was one of the worst cases. that she had ever seen from the bench. >> This is. one of the most horrific crimes that. I've had to preside over. It's my duty. and responsibility to give a fair and. impartial hearing and I've done so. today. the crimes which you are pleading guilty. to capital murder, kidnapping, sexual. battery, against victims who were the.

age of four and nine, and against the. scientists I stated earlier of some of. the most horrific. crimes that I've had to endure since. taking the bench. I hope this will be my. last if at all possible. However, it is my responsibility to. ensure the safety of the public. in Atlanta. I understand that the state. has also spoke with the family and they. tried to also take consideration there.

which is which is why they have made the. recommendation that they've made. >> Yes, ma'am. That is correct. And Judge. Gibbs also assured that despite the. despicable cruelty that Callahan. committed upon his victims, he was in. his right mind and aware of the. consequences of his guilty plea. >> And when I read the. crimes that was committed against the. victims, my first inquiry was at that. competency. I want the court to know.

that, the family to know that because to. me the atrocities that took place on. that day among those children of. I want to make sure that the person. stand up in front of me was mis trial. and that's our responsibility. as well and I have verification that. this cab is competent to be here today. Therefore, the sentence that. I'm going to impose today will be.

recommendation along with the. recommendation of the family which is. count one captain murder. Mr. C in prison for life without the. possibility of parole to be served in. the custody of this department. corrections. Count two 30 years in the. custody of this department corrections. with all 30 years to be served. Count. three, 30 years in the custody. department of corrections and those. counts two and three were served on each.

of those counts. Count four, there was a. sexual battery and Mr. Kelly had to be. in prison for life and Mr. Park. corrections offered the court. Count. five for sexual battery to be imprisoned. for life and Mr. Park corrections. Those. sentences will be opposed today and will. be served secondly to each other. These sentences will also be served. secondly to the life sentence that's. already been imposed by the 21st. Judicial District Court of Louisiana. >> So, just in case you didn't catch that,

Callahan was sentenced to life in prison. on the capital murder and sexual battery. charges, 30 years for each of the. kidnapping charges. That sentence will. run consecutively to the lifetime. sentence handed down in Louisiana, as. well as his federal sentence of life, which is expected to be handed down at a. hearing later this year. And according. to the court, Callahan will essentially. live the rest of his life in the. Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola. So, Mauricio, you talked about how bad. that is, but also, how much of an impact.

is it to when you have someone who's. sentenced to these multiple life terms? Yes, in a way, it doesn't change the. practical reality of what he's going to. be going through, but it is symbolic. It. is important nonetheless because isn't. it saying we are treating each charge. individually? We're treating each. sentence individually. It's not grouping. it all together. It's he's being. sentenced for the crimes that he. committed. >> Yeah, it's important because that that. way you know everybody that's looking.

can say okay this is the crime that you. were convicted of. This is the. appropriate sentence for that crime. So. I agree with you. And also to have a. judge like Judge Gibbs that's dealing. with felony court in a place like. Louisiana. For her to say that it's the. most horrific, that's saying something. I'm talking about I know prosecutors. that got hired after Katrina just to do. murders. And this is not just one. They. hired a fleet of experienced prosecutors. that their job was just to deal with. murders. Just to give you an idea of the. number of murders that came after. Katrina in Louisiana. So it's not like a.

judge that practices in a normal place. for her to make that distinction that. this is one of the most horrific crimes, that's really saying something coming. from someone like her. If you're saying. that he's going to Angola, that is. definitely the worst prison in the. United States. I don't think that. there's ever been a question about that. And it's been the worst for like the. past 30 years or 40 years. So, he's. really going to the worst place, charged. with the worst crimes. When you think. about the decision that the family made, I agree with it because if they would. have not made this offer, this was going.

to have to go to trial, which would have. been the victim's family would have had. to be drawn through the entire process. of the trial, the media that accompanies. it, the appeals, even though I said that. there's never really closure when you're. victimized in a crime of this nature, but this could have dragged out 10, 15. years. So at least with this they could. try and move on and not have it. continuously in their head for the next. decade or decade and a half. >> talking about the family. So Callie's. sister Brandy Hash spoke on behalf of.

her family at Callahan's hearings in. both Louisiana and Mississippi. Just. take a listen to this. >> I am the sister of Callie and the Baron. I'm speaking today on behalf of my mom, dad, and myself. I speak these words again, hoping they. echo in your mind the way your actions. echo in our lives. Here in Mississippi, you took the life of a precious innocent. baby.

You stripped another defenseless child. of peace and innocence. They had no way to fight for themselves, so we cared their voices for them. I have thought about this day many. times. What will I say? Will it really. make an impact to a monster, a predator, a murderer, a rapist, a thief, a coward?

All of the things that you are. You have not. you have not only stolen Callie and. Aaron's lives for us, but you have. stolen a sense of peace and light for my. family. The hole you have left behind. cannot be filled. And the pain that you. have caused reaches far beyond any words. I can say. We are forever changed in the worst. possible way because of you. You have no. limits, no soul. You are a demon.

Not one single day goes by that we are. not sad, lost, angry, or sickened. because of you. I hope every time you. close your eyes, your mind is filled. with nightmares and you never have rest. I hope every time you wake, you have. nothing to ever look forward to again. When you look down at your own two. hands, I hope you can't unsee what they.

have done. Those two hands tortured and. violently took the life of a daughter, a. mom, a sister, and a friend. In the last. breath of a four-year-old innocent baby, you took her life because she was scared. and crying for mama, her protector, her. world. This cannot be undone, forgotten, forgiven, or even coped with. I hope you never have a single moment of.

peace in your life. As I watch my niece try to navigate her. life with no mom, no sister, and no best. friend. It sickens me that you get to. live. Let's be clear, Daniel. Your life is being spared for one reason. only, to protect my niece from ever. having to see you again. You don't deserve this grace. I watch my niece looking at photos of.

her mom and sister. Photos because. that's all we have left because of you. She has asked me, "Many, will you pay. for what you've done to my mom and my. sister and me?" And we have promised. her, "Yes, you will pay.". You may not get the death penalty today, but you will pay. I trust in this. The Apostle Paul says there,

"Do not take revenge, but leave room for. God's wrath.". My family, all that are exhausted with. grief and anger, have never stopped. fighting for our girls and to protect. the world from you. You must be caged. like the animal to keep others safe. Just think about that. You must be caged. When you finally take your last. undeserving breath, I know then you will.

ultimately pay for everything you have. done. And that is the only use that we. came with. >> In one sense, it's kind of unbelievable. to think she even has the strength to. sit there make a statement like that. Her words were incredibly powerful. And. I'm curious when you listen to that. You. know, there are conflicting opinions. about the idea of closure. Some people. whose loved ones are are victims to. unspeakable crimes. They say the horror. is never truly over. It's never really. over. There's never closure. There's.

others who say, "Hey, listen. Being able. to provide a victim impact statement. directly to the perpetrator in open. court. That means something. It provides. a measure of peace. You've been in. courtrooms. You've been part of trials. for years. What is your position on. these victim impact statements and the. importance they have? if doesn't change. necessarily the sentence, why is it. important? >> First of all, it could if it's not a. negotiated plea, it could affect the. sentence. But I think it's important for. the for the reasons that you've you've. you've stated like that's their.

opportunity to express to the person. that's caused this pain to their family, how they feel, and publicly so people. can understand their pain. And I think. it's important for them, you know, to. get that expression out. It's very. difficult when dealing with crime like. the one that we're talking about. I. mean, I've represented a lot of people. charged with murder, and a lot of them. like murder for hire, home invasions, people that kill people because they're. angry. That's like separate. But I've. also had the misfortune of representing. sadistic criminals that have murdered. for pleasure and for sexual pleasure.

And I'm telling you, as a criminal. defense attorney, it's a completely. different experience when you're face to. face with that type of evil. and and. unfortunately, you know, this poor woman. not only came face to face with it, but. her family was completely derailed and. she's had to now, you know, muster the. strength to stand in front of him and. express to her how it feels. So, even. though I did make the statement about. there really is never any closure, something like that could definitely. assist her in trying to, you know, move. forward, move forward with her life as.

best she can. >> Now, I had mentioned before that. Callahan had an alleged accomplice, Victoria Cox. So, a Mississippi grand. jury actually indicted her for capital. murder, kidnapping, sexual battery, the. same charges that Callahan faced. However, she has entered a not-uilty. plea. So, her Mississippi trial, it's. scheduled to start in December. And. earlier this year, she was also. arraigned in Louisiana, accused of being. accessory after the fact to murder. She. also faces charges there, first-degree. murder, aggravated kidnapping of a. child, seconddegree kidnapping.

Mauricio, do you see her taking a plea. as well before these cases make it to. trial? I would say yes because if you. represent someone like her and I would. be trying to avoid trial as best that I. could can because in my opinion there. still exists this public thirst for. justice and since this individual has. avoided the death penalty they want to. still blame somebody like with these. charges in a place like this I would be. trying my best to avoid a trial at all.

cost. I don't know whether Louisiana is. similar to Florida where all they need. is in Florida you don't need a unanimous. verdict for death. All you need is a. majority. That's not hard to do. That's. not hard to do. So I would try I mean. listen I love to go to trial. That's why. I became an attorney. But I always tell. my clients I avoid it at all costs. because if your freedom or your life is. in the hands of a jury, then you really. don't know what's going to happen. And. anybody that's been practicing the the. time that I have will tell you that. because I have lost some of the ones. that I should have uh won and I've won.

some of the ones that I should have. lost. So, it's you really can't predict. what's going to happen in in front of a. jury. >> Interesting you say that that there's. ones you won that you should have lost. That's interesting you you admitted. that. Um, look, Mauricio, this is uh. we'll see. We'll see what she decides to. do. This is an awful, awful, awful case, but I appreciate you coming on and. breaking it down for us. Uh, again, really just sad and we're wishing the. family the best as they move on to the. next chapter. Thank you, Mauricio. >> Thank you for having me. And that is all.

we have for you right now here on. Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much. for joining us. And as always, please. subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcast, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm. Jesse Weber. I'll see you next time. [Music].