Authorities released Ring camera footage after the grim discovery was made, where they say a person they believe to be Hannah Landon can be seen dragging the bucket that contained the child onto the lawn of a neighbor of the victim’s mother.
A Louisiana woman has been arrested after cops say she allegedly killed her boyfriend’s 6-year-old daughter and dumped the body in a bucket, according to reports.
Hannah Landon, 43, is currently in police custody and is accused of killing the child.
Landon has been booked first-degree murder and obstruction of justice.
Cops say she wedged the victim’s body into a 10-gallon bucket and then used a wagon to cart the bucket to the residence of a neighbor of the girl's mother, where it was discovered Wednesday morning, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office identified the victim as Bella Fontenelle.
An autopsy conducted Wednesday determined the child’s death was a homicide, Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said during a press conference, according to NOLA.com.
The child had "multiple injuries," while Cvitanovich said he would not release her cause of death, citing the ongoing investigation, NOLA.com reported.
"I want to add that Bella’s body was intact and contrary to public speculation, there was no dismemberment of any kind," Cvitanovich said. "This is not something we're happy to do. It's something that's hard to see and it's even more hard to unsee."
Landon was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a local hospital. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto would not say why she was at the hospital.
The Jefferson Parish Courts tells Inside Edition Digital that Landon has not been arraigned and is in police custody. They added that nothing has been filed in her case and that she has a preliminary hearing on May 9.
Authorities released Ring camera footage after the grim discovery was made, where they say a person hey believe to be Landon can be seen dragging bucket that contained the child onto the lawn of a neighbor of the victim’s mother.
"We believe the child was killed at the father’s house ... and then transported over to the mother’s house and then taken out of a wagon," Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said during a press conference Wednesday.
No information about a possible motive was shared at this time.
Bella Fontenelle’s parents are not considered suspects in this crime, according to police.
Bella Fontenelle was a kindergarten student at St. Matthew the Apostle School in River Ridge. The school has canceled classes for the rest of the week and will have support resources for students and faculty on campus Monday morning when classes resume, according to Fox 8 Live.
