Louisiana Woman Kills Boyfriend’s Daughter, Leaves Body in a Bucket on Mother’s Lawn
Lafayette, Louisiana (KPEL) - A Louisiana woman has been convicted of murdering her boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter, and then leaving the remains in a bucket on the child's mother's lawn.
Bunnak "Hannah" Landon Convicted Of 1st Degree Murder
On May 1, 2025, a jury determined that Harahan, Louisiana woman Bunnak Landon was not insane, and passed down a guilty verdict of 1st-degree murder and two counts of obstruction of justice.
On May 6, Ladon was sentenced to life in prison for the murder.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office announced that the jury for the murder trial rejected Landon's insanity defense claiming she has a mental defect that prohibited her from knowing right from wrong.
From jpda.us -
"Landon, whose exact age is unclear, is guilty as charged of first-degree murder and two counts of obstruction of justice in connection with Bella Fontenelle's death on the night of April 25, 2023, jurors unanimously decided at the end of the 4-day trial.
Landon had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. Her lawyers argued she could not be held legally responsible for Bella’s death because a mental defect prevented her from distinguishing right from wrong – an assertion that prosecutors promptly shot down."
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On the evening of April 25, 2023, the father of the victim, 6-year-old Bella Fontenelle, was reportedly working late and stuck at work.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives determined Bunnak Landon killed Bella at approximately 7:30 that same evening.
Using video footage obtained from numerous residential surveillance systems in Landon's neighborhood, at 9:30 pm that evening, authorities observed Ladon pulling a blue canvas wagon containing a bucket.
In that bucket was little Bella Fontenelle's lifeless body.
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From jpda.us -
"Dressed in a pink long-sleeve shirt, black tights and white knee-high boots, Landon pulled the wagon less than ¼-mile away to Bella’s biological mother’s home one street over. She placed the bucket on the front lawn at about 9:35 PM, and returned to the Donelon Drive residence towing the empty wagon."
Once returning home, Landon left her house and never returned.
The Child's father returned home from work at around 9:45 PM and went straight to bed, assuming his two daughters were asleep in their bedrooms and Landon was sleeping on the couch.
The next morning when he woke up, he realized Bella and Landon were missing, he reported them missing to the Harahan Police Department which triggered an Amber Alert.
That morning while searching for the missing 6-year-old Bella, the grandmother noticed a bucket sitting in the driveway at the child's mom's house at around 8:15 AM.
Realizing there was blood on the bucket, Bella's mother then tried to unscrew the bucket's lid to see what was inside.
Unable to open the bucket, she called the child's father who arrived moments later with police who were able to open the bucket, finding Bell's body inside.
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Bunnak Landon will be serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This begs the question...why did Bunnak Landon kill Bella Fontenelli?
Reportedly, Landon viewed the child as an obstacle in the relationship with the child's dad after Bella told her father that Landon was mean to her and he confronted Landon about it.
Read more at jpda.us.
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