The community of Loranger shocked after the double murder of a mother and a young child

TANGIPAHOA PARISH, La. — There is an overwhelming sense of shock and disbelief in Loranger, a small, God-fearing community in rural Tangipahoa Parish.

“I’ve been here 45 years and I don’t know anything like this, especially to a child, but even Callie didn’t deserve this,” said Amanda Davis, Loranger’s neighbor. “None of them did.”

Callie Burnett was found dead in her home Thursday morning.

Her two young daughters were kidnapped and found hours later in Mississippi.

Four-year-old Erin was dead and six-year-old Jaile was thankfully still alive.

“It’s really crazy that you grow up with someone and you haven’t seen them in a while and all of a sudden you see them on the news saying they were murdered or seriously injured,” said Loranger resident Casey Shelton. . “It’s just sad.”

“We are sad,” said another neighbor Raymond Mercante. “We never thought this would happen in a community like this. We are a close-knit community.

But even in the smallest communities… sometimes bad things happen.

“For us, having my own kids and knowing Callie and her babies, it’s a lot, it’s hard, it’s hard for everyone right now,” Davis said. “We all try to pull together and be there for them.”

In Loranger, everyone knows almost everyone here.

But no one seems to have known Daniel Callihan, the man accused of murdering Callie and Erin Brunett.

“I don’t know anything about the man who was there,” Shelton said. “I’ve never met him before.”

“I’m a Christian person, but I know God has a hand in this, but in my heart and in my flesh I just want the worst for this man for what he did,” Davis said.

Governor Jeff Landry had this reaction to the tragic events in Loranger.

“Sharon and I have been following the news and praying for the families of these victims. We are heartbroken. The evil person responsible for this crime will be held accountable. Justice will be served.”

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