The Louisiana Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Bunnak Landon’s appeal to reverse a lower court decision that deemed her competent to face trial for the tragic murder of young Bella Fontenelle in 2023, according to court records.
The seven justices on the state’s high court voted six to one against Landon’s request. Justice Jay B. Hughes was the only one who indicated he would have approved her application for a supervisory writ.
Landon was indicted last year on a charge of first-degree murder and another for obstruction of justice related to Bella’s death.
A report from New Orleans Fox affiliate WVUE states that Landon initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. However, last month, her attorneys sought to change her plea to not guilty by reason of insanity.
In May 2024, Jefferson Parish District Judge Nancy Miller ruled that Landon was incompetent to stand trial after listening to testimony from two doctors, concluding that the accused child-killer could not aid in her own defense. Two months later, Miller changed her earlier decision after a closer look at Landon.
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Landon challenged the district court’s decision regarding her competence, first taking her case to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal and then to the state Supreme Court. However, both courts chose not to review or change the lower court’s ruling. The recent decision by the court to deny Landon’s writ clears the path for her trial, set to start on April 28.
In April 2023, Bella’s father discovered that both his daughter and girlfriend were missing from their home in Harahan, located roughly 10 miles west of New Orleans, as previously reported by Law&Crime.
A father arrived at the Harahan Police Station around 7:30 a.m. to report that two individuals were missing. About 15 minutes later, officers reached the family’s home on Donelon Drive and started looking into the situation regarding the missing woman and child.
At approximately 8:20 a.m., investigators shifted their focus to the home of Bella’s biological mother on Sedgefield Drive, just around the corner and under two blocks from Bella’s father’s house.
Following Landon’s arrest, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office was contacted, and the Major Crimes Task Force took over the investigation into Bella’s death, according to Sheriff Joseph Lopinto. Officials later found that Bella had been beaten and strangled to death.
JPSO investigators have focused their attention on Landon, identified by the sheriff’s office as an Asian female known by the names “Bunnak Lim” and “Bunnak Landon,” making her the main suspect in the case.
The sheriff’s office gathered Ring doorbell footage from nearby neighbors while searching for Landon. They reported that the footage showed Landon late the night before “pulling a wagon containing a bucket down both Donelon and Sedgefield Drives.” Landon was on his way to visit Bella’s biological mother.
A video has surfaced showing Landon at 9:33 p.m. walking down the street with a wagon and bucket, seemingly unbothered by the presence of a white minivan that passes by, with the deceased child visible in the wagon.
After conducting an investigation and thorough interviews with Bella’s biological parents, authorities have stated that they do not believe either parent was involved in their daughter’s death.
Detectives received a notification around 2 p.m. that Landon was found and had been taken to a local hospital. Officials reported that Landon entered the Harahan Police Department shortly after midnight and “was later taken to the hospital for evaluation.”
Landon was taken to the Jefferson Parish Jail following her discharge.
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