The family of a 6-year-old Louisiana girl who was allegedly murdered by her dad’s live-in girlfriend and carted off in a bucket decried the “senseless and heinous act” — and paid tribute to the “funny” and “amazing” kindergartener.
After her niece, Bella Fontenelle, was allegedly killed last week by Bunnak “Hannah” Landon, 43, her aunt shared the heartbreaking message on a GoFundMe page.
“Where do I start… my beautiful Bella… the world is so unjust. You were given to us for 6 amazing years,” Bianca Cano wrote on the fundraiser launched Saturday.
“You were near-perfect. Your lovely little voice, your amusing personality, the way you danced, how delicate and fragile you were, your smile, your laugh, the way you expressed yourself. “I could go on and on about how incredible this little soul was,” she added.
“This heinous and senseless act has forever destroyed my family.” There are no words to describe the agony coursing through our bodies. Cano added, “It’s truly inhumane.”
She said she was starting the fundraiser to help her sister, Jennifer Zeledon, a single mother who lives on Sedgfield Drive in the New Orleans suburb of Harahan, as identified by Fox 8 Live.
“I’d like to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts once again during these horrible trying days,” Cano wrote.
On Wednesday morning, Bella’s father, Michael Fontenelle, reported his daughter and her girlfriend missing to police.
Neighbors provided police with chilling surveillance video of a woman matching Landon’s description wheeling a large bucket on a wagon in the area.
The evidence led police to Zeledon’s front lawn, where they discovered the girl’s body in a bucket.
According to Harahan Police Chief Edward Lepre, Landon came to the police station shortly after the heinous crime and asked for assistance.
“She appeared to be a little out of it. “She requested transportation, so they called an ambulance to come pick her up, and once the ambulance arrived, they transported her to a local hospital to be evaluated,” Lepre told Fox 8 Live.
Landon was released on Thursday and charged with first-degree murder and obstructing justice.
“We’re going to work until the end to make sure we get a conviction,” said the chief. “This is a tiny baby, and any family would be heartbroken.” “I can only imagine how the mother and father are feeling right now.”
Last week, Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich announced that preliminary autopsy results revealed Bella died from “manual strangulation along with blunt force injuries to the head.”
A petition for a temporary restraining order reveals that Landon and Zeledon have been at odds since 2021.
According to a court filing cited by the news outlet, the two women got into a physical altercation during a children’s swim meet on March 17, 2021, and Bella’s father had to intervene.
Meanwhile, during a church service on Sunday, the community remembered Bella, who attended St. Matthew the Apostle School.
“It’s a close-knit community, and we need to be there for them,” local Anne Graffagnini told WLTV. “It was unbelievable, so heartbreaking, and it was difficult to believe we were sitting there for that reason.”
Steve Morris, another neighbor, told Fox 8 Live that Bella “had the biggest smile.” She was the first to approach you, share, and simply laugh.”
“I would see the little girl and the older sister out in the driveway playing, riding their little bikes,” he added. The mother would join them out there. The grandparents would join them out there. It was breathtaking to watch.”