Hannah Landon: Stepmom accused of killing boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter Bella may receive the death penalty
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HARAHAN, LOUISIANA: Bunnak "Hannah" Landon is accused of murdering her boyfriend's young daughter, Bella Fontenelle, and could face the death penalty if found guilty. Landon was ordered to be held without bond by the court, and the motive for Bella's horrific murder is still a mystery.
Bella, 6, was discovered dead inside a chlorine drum on Wednesday, April 26 in front of her mother's home in Harahan, Louisiana, according to Daily Mail. She was residing with her father, Michael Fontenelle, at the residence he and his 43-year-old longtime partner, Landon, shared. Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich claimed that the cause of death was "manual strangulation, with blunt force trauma to the head," and a motive has not yet been verified by the police.
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What are the charges against Bunnak 'Hannah' Landon?
Landon, also known as Bunnak Lim, is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on suicide watch after being charged with first-degree murder and interfering with justice. The following court appearance for Landon is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9. If found guilty of first-degree murder, she could be sentenced to death, according to court documents. Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office claimed that Landon battered and strangled the young child before packing her body into a 10-gallon bucket, carrying it a half-mile on a cart, and dumping it on Bella's mother's property, according to DailyMail.
'You were beyond perfection'
Bella's family has set up a GoFundMe to seek funds for funeral costs for the "beautiful little soul" who was "taken too soon." The schoolgirl's aunt, Bianca Cano, paid tribute to her by stating in the GoFundMe, "This senseless and heinous act has forever destroyed my family." Cano added, "No words can describe the pain that is running through our bodies. It's truly inhumane. The world is so unjust. You were given to us for six amazing years. You were beyond perfection."
Cano continued by stating, "Your beautiful little voice, your funny personality, the way you danced, the way you were so delicate and fragile, your smile, your laugh, the way you expressed yourself. Everyone again from the bottom of our hearts during these horrible, trying days. No person should ever go through what we are going through [much] less a mother and father having to lay to rest a child."
