Louisiana woman killed boyfriend's daughter and left her body for biological mom to find
The convicetd killer pleaded guilty by reason of insanity due to her post-traumatic stress disorder from growing up in a Khmer Rouge death camp in Cambodia.
A Louisiana woman was handed down a life sentence without possibility of parole for murdering her boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter.
Bunnak "Hannah" Landon, 43, was found guilty of beating and strangling her boyfriend's daughter Bella Fontenelle, 6, to death and dumping her unconscious body into a bucket that she placed on the front lawn of her biological mother in Louisiana in 2023.
According to a press release from the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office, Landon was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder and two counts of obstruction of justice.
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She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder and 80 years for the obstruction charges.
Landon pleaded guilty by reason of insanity. She is a U.S. citizen but grew up a Khmer Rouge death camp in Cambodia.
A forensic psychiatrist testified that the genocide survivor suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, providing groundwork for Landon's legal team to argue that she could not differentiate right from wrong.
However, the prosecutor's forensic psychiatrist said, "It's my opinion that she understood the consequences of her actions at the time."
The murder occurred when Landon was watching Bella and her older sister on April 25, 2023, while their father worked late in Kenner, according to the district attorney's office.
The kids were picked up after school by their grandmother and were later dropped off around 7:30 p.m. at Landon's home in Harahan.
Video footage showed Landon pulling the bucket on the wagon down the street to her biological mother's home. The next morning, the father reported her missing, leading police to launch a search and send an Amber Alert.
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Bella's maternal grandmother found bucket on the lawn on the driveway during the search, leading police to uncover the baby girl's body, which was still adorned in a pink and white pajama set.
Landon had turned herself in to police that night, but officers report that she was uncooperative.She was then arrested after being taken in for medical evaluation.
Prosecutors had found a disturbing video on Landon's phone of Bella locked in her room crying shortly before the murder.
Bella could be heard screaming, "I want my grandma," through the door while a towel was stuffed into the floor crack. Landon also sent messages to Bella's loved ones to throw off suspicion.
Bella died from asphyxia due to strangulation and blunt-force trauma with numerous bruises on her head and abrasions on her neck, according to a press release from the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office.
