HARAHAN, La. — The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office has arrested the woman they believe killed a 6-year-old girl in Harahan in a crime that stunned the entire community, Sheriff Joe Lopinto said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Bella Fontenelle, a kindergartener at St. Matthew the Apostle school, was found dead inside a bucket on her mother's front yard, Wednesday morning.
Police believe the father's girlfriend, Hannah Landon, 43, is the primary suspect, Lopinto said. She was arrested Wednesday afternoon at a local hospital. Lopinto would not say why she was at the hospital.
Landon was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correction Center on Thursday facing counts of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice. On Thursday, a judge determined that she should be held withhout bond, a spokesperson for the JPSO said.
Lopinto said Bella Fontenelle's mother and father were both interviewed, and they are not considered suspects in the homicide investigation.
Apparently, neighbors' surveillance video showed Landon dragging a wagon with a bucket nearby, before the body had been found. She is facing first-degree murder charges as well as an obstruction of justice charge, according to JPSO.
Harahan Police Chief Ed Lepre, who was out of town in Florida, returned Wednesday afternoon to deal with the tragedy. He was noticeably moved by the circumstances and wanted to reassure the public.
"The city of Harahan is still safe for the public," he said, while pausing. "This is a safe city."
Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said that while the case is clearly a homicide, the details of the crime would not be released at this time.
He commended all who worked on the case, saying it wasn't easy.
"Cases like this are hard. We're parents, brothers, sisters."
Eyewitness News spoke to neighbors who said this is a quiet, family-orientated neighborhood. They say they're shocked this happened. One neighbor told us he saw Bella and her family biking around the neighborhood just two weeks ago.
"It's beyond shocking, I am shaking. Something like this could happen," another neighbor said.
"Shocking, absolutely shocking, it's very upsetting, this doesn't happen here. I feel so bad for the family," another neighbor said.
Authorities did reassure the community that there is no threat to public safety, but this tragedy, however, has rocked this close-knit community.
"It's just shocking it happened so close to where I have a family, and raising a family," a neighbor said.
St. Matthew sent an email to parents, saying that classes would be canceled Thursday and Friday.
"This is indeed a horrific tragedy that will impact our school and parish community. Because of the very challenging and sensitive nature of the situation and, in order to help our faculty and families in processing this news, we have made the decision to cancel all classes tomorrow, Thursday, April 27 and Friday April 28."
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