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A Louisiana woman, Hannah Landon, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and obstruction charges in the killing of 6-year-old Bella Fontenelle. Bella’s body was found in a plastic bucket on her mother’s front lawn. Landon is accused of beating and strangling Bella before placing her body in the bucket and towing it to the house of Bella’s biological mother. Landon has been held without bond since her arrest in April and her bail has been set at $2.5 million. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty. Drusilla Moorhouse reported
A woman from Louisiana entered a plea of not guilty on Friday to charges of first-degree murder and obstruction relating to the killing of 6-year-old Bella Fontenelle, whose body was discovered in a large plastic bucket on her mother’s front lawn on April 25. Hannah Landon, aged 43, is accused of beating and strangling Bella, who was the daughter of her live-in boyfriend, and then placing her body in a 10-gallon bucket. Landon allegedly towed the bucket on a small wagon to the residence of the girl’s biological mother, who lived nearby in Harahan.
According to authorities, Bella’s father reported his daughter and girlfriend missing on the morning of April 26. It is alleged that Landon killed Bella sometime after 7:30 p.m. the previous night, after Bella’s grandmother said she assisted in getting her and her 7-year-old sister ready for bed before leaving them in Landon’s care.
Law enforcement officials stated that a security camera captured footage of a woman believed to be Landon retrieving a large bucket from the side of her house at around 9:30 p.m. Additional surveillance video obtained from neighboring residences shows a woman, identified as Landon, pulling a wagon with a bucket along her street and the adjacent street where Bella’s mother lived.
Upon returning home with the empty wagon, Landon allegedly buried her cellphone in a nearby yard and then went to the Harahan Police Department around midnight. Although she appeared distressed, she did not provide an explanation. Later that day, she was arrested after being taken to the hospital. Bella’s father and mother, who shared custody of the two girls, are not considered suspects in the child’s murder.
During a court hearing on June 29, a detective from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office homicide unit stated that although the girls mentioned that Landon was “mean” and they did not enjoy staying at their father’s house, there was no indication that she would harm them.
Bella’s mother previously reported an attack by Landon at a swim meet in 2021. In response, Landon claimed that Bella’s mother initiated the altercation and filed for a restraining order, which was ultimately denied by a judge.
An indictment was issued by a grand jury on Thursday, charging Landon with murder and two counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly disposing of the body and concealing her cellphone. Landon has been held without bond since her arrest on April 26 and will remain in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center. No comment has been provided by Landon’s attorneys.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office spokesperson confirmed that the death penalty will not be pursued in this case. Landon’s bail has been set at $2.5 million by a judge.
Note: The original text contained American English spelling and grammar..
