Six-year-old Bella Fontenelle was killed on the evening of April 25, 2023, in Harahan, Louisiana, by her father's live-in girlfriend, Hannah Landon (also known as Bunnak Lim), age 43. Bella's grandmother had helped her and her 7-year-old sister get ready for bed and left them in Landon's care after approximately 7:30 PM. The Jefferson Parish Coroner determined the cause of death was manual strangulation along with blunt force injuries to the head. After the killing, surveillance footage showed Landon retrieving a large 10-gallon bucket around 9:30 PM, placing Bella's body inside, and wheeling it on a wagon to the front lawn of Bella's biological mother, Jennifer Zeledon, who lived nearby. Landon then buried her cellphone in a nearby yard and went to the Harahan Police Department around midnight appearing distressed, where she was eventually transported to a hospital. The next morning, Bella's father Michael Fontenelle reported his daughter and girlfriend missing. Police found the child's body in the bucket on the mother's lawn. Landon was arrested, charged with first-degree murder and two counts of obstruction of justice, and indicted by a grand jury. She pleaded not guilty and was held on $2.5 million bail.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
Document 1 (NY Post) cites the Jefferson Parish Coroner stating the cause of death was "manual strangulation along with blunt force injuries to the head." Document 2 (HuffPost) states that "Landon beat and strangled Bella." Both sources explicitly describe inflicted injuries including strangulation and blunt force trauma.
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Both documents identify the perpetrator as Hannah Landon (also known as Bunnak Lim / Bunnak Landon), the live-in girlfriend of Bella's biological father, Michael Fontenelle. Document 1 (NY Post) describes her as the father's "live-in girlfriend" and Document 2 (HuffPost) states she was "the daughter of her live-in boyfriend." Landon was charged with first-degree murder.
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
Document 1 (NY Post) states: "Landon was discharged Thursday morning and charged with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice." Document 2 (HuffPost) confirms: "On Thursday, a grand jury indicted Landon on the murder charge and two counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly disposing of the body and hiding her cellphone." Landon was arrested on April 26 and has been held since.
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Document 1 (NY Post) reports: "On March 17, 2021, the two women got into a physical altercation during a children's swim meet and Bella's dad had to intervene." Document 2 (HuffPost) adds: "Bella's mother, however, told police in 2021 that Landon had attacked her at a swim meet." This describes a physical altercation between the child's caregiver (Landon, the father's live-in girlfriend) and the biological mother in a co-parenting/custodial context. The violence involved members of the child's household/family dynamic, which in child welfare contexts is commonly classified as domestic or family violence.
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Document 1 (NY Post) reports that when Landon arrived at the police station, "She seemed a little bit out of it. She was asking for a transport so they called for an ambulance to come pick her up and once the ambulance came to pick her up, they transported her to a local hospital to be evaluated." Document 2 (HuffPost) states she seemed "distressed" and "was eventually transported to the hospital." Being transported to a hospital for evaluation due to distressed/altered behavior implies a mental health assessment of the caregiver, though no formal mental health diagnosis is stated.
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Notable Details
Several notable details emerge from the text. First, Document 2 (HuffPost) states: "Prosecutors will not be pursuing the death penalty, a spokesperson for the Jefferson Parish District Attorney's Office told HuffPost." Second, Document 2 reports that in a court hearing, a homicide detective testified that "although the girls said Landon was 'mean' and they didn't like staying at their father's house, there was no indication that she would harm his daughters." This is a significant detail suggesting potential missed warning signs in the children's own expressed discomfort with the caregiver. Third, the perpetrator deliberately transported the child's body to the biological mother's front lawn, which may be indicative of the interpersonal conflict between Landon and the biological mother documented since 2021. Finally, Landon was also indicted for two counts of obstruction for disposing of the body and burying her cellphone.
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