Mother-of-3 Gets Plea Deal After Murdering Girl, 4, Kidnapping Sister, 6, and Forcing Her to Live in Pit with Body

A Mississippi judge has sentenced a mother of three to decades in prison for her role in a fatal kidnapping and the murder of a young child.

Victoria Cox, 34, pleaded guilty to one count each of second-degree murder and kidnapping after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. She had originally faced charges of capital murder, kidnapping and sexual battery.

The case centers on Cox’s involvement with her childhood friend, Daniel Callihan, who admitted to killing 35-year-old Callie Brunett in Louisiana on the night of June 11, 2024, and then abducting Brunett’s two daughters, ages 4 and 6.

According to a written factual basis filed in the case, Callihan drove the next day to the home in Louisiana where Cox was staying. From there, he transported Cox and the two kidnapped girls across the Mississippi state line to McComb, a city about 80 miles south of Jackson.

Callihan stated in his factual basis that he and Cox then engaged in criminal sexual activity with the 6-year-old. He went on to kill the 4-year-old by holding her tightly against his chest, while Cox, by her own account, did nothing to intervene despite knowing he was killing the child.

In a post-Miranda interview with investigators, Cox confirmed Callihan’s description of the sexual assault of the older girl and the murder of her younger sister.

Brunett’s body was not discovered until two days after her killing, at which point authorities launched a search for her daughters. An autopsy later revealed that Brunett had suffered multiple stab wounds and sharp force injuries to her head, neck, chest, abdomen and back.

Callihan had taken Brunett’s car after the murder, and law enforcement tracked the vehicle during a large-scale search involving local, state and federal agencies. Officers eventually found the surviving daughter being kept in a pit, with her younger sister’s body nearby, according to the factual basis.

At a press conference, Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade described the scene as “sickening” and said he saw “small cages” and “small wired enclosures,” suggesting it may have been a location where human trafficking could have taken place.

Earlier this year, Callihan was sentenced in federal court to three life terms. As part of those proceedings, Cox agreed to provide evidence and testify against him.

Cox faced only local charges, and her trial—where she could have received the death penalty—had been scheduled to begin on Dec. 8.

Instead, she submitted a handwritten note to the court stating: “I’ve been trying to get my attorney to come go over my plea deal with me, but he has failed to do so. I would like to accept it. Can you put me on the court docket?”

Hinds County Circuit Judge Winston Kidd granted the request. In court, he questioned how a woman with children of her own, ages 9, 8 and 6, could participate in such crimes, before sentencing her to 40 years in prison for murder and 25 years for kidnapping.

Under the terms of her plea agreement, Cox will serve 40 years, after the judge agreed not to run the 25-year kidnapping sentence consecutively.

Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment.