The 6-year-old girl who was found in a bucket on her mother’s lawn was beaten and strangled by her father’s girlfriend.
Bunnak “Hannah” Landon, 43, is in custody and charged with the brutal murder of Bella Fontenelle, Nola.com reports.
Police discovered Bella’s battered body in a 12-gallon bucket on the front lawn of her mother’s home on Donelon Drive in Jefferson Parish on Wednesday, April 26.
Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich released the results of an autopsy.
Bella had multiple blunt force trauma injuries to her head, Cvitanovich said. She died by strangulation.
Ring camera video captured the suspect pulling a wagon carrying a large white bucket about a block away from the mother’s home at 9:35 p.m. Tuesday.
Landon was arrested on Wednesday at a local hospital. She is charged with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. She is being held without bond.
The child’s father woke up Wednesday morning in his home and discovered his daughter and girlfriend were missing.
The father called police to file missing persons reports for the child and Landon. He said his 7-year-old daughter was in the home and unharmed.
Officials say the father and Landon dated “for several years” and they lived together with his 2 daughters.
Bella was a kindergarten student at St. Matthew the Apostle Catholic School in River Ridge. Administrators announced the school will close Thursday and Friday in response to the tragic incident.
An email sent to parents said, in part, “We have notified our faculty of today’s events but have not shared anything with the students. We delayed this notification in an effort to shield our kids from this tragic news. We feel it is best for them to be with you when the news reaches them.”
Watch the video below.
