The Final Hike of Jolee Callan

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16th December 2021  •  5 min read

In August of 2015, Loren Bunner posted scenic photographs of his ex-girlfriend, Jolee Callan, on a hike. Moments later, he shot her twice in the head and threw her body from the cliff.


The Final Hike of Jolee Callan

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On the 30th of August, 2015, police were alerted to a potential homicide on Pinhoti Trail in Cheaha State Park in Delta, Alabama. They had received a phone call from a man who informed them that he had just murdered his ex-girlfriend.

Police would embark on the scene where they found the body 18-year-old Jolee Callan, a 2015 graduate of Vincent High School. She had been shot dead with a .22-caliber Ruger Bearcat revolver. 20-year-old Loren Daniel Bunner, who lived in Vincent, was arrested, and charged with murder. He was ordered to be held on $150,000 bail. It was Bunner who had called 911 to report that he had murdered Jolee.

Bunner was Jolee’s ex-boyfriend. They had met at Vincent High School and had dated for around ten months. Eventually, however, Jolee broke off the relationship because she wanted to be able to spend time with her friends. As her father, Michael, said: “He just wanted to do things with his friends and wouldn’t let her do things with her friends.”1

Following the break up, Jolee and Bunner had remained in contact. They had gotten a dog together, Kiba, and Bunner kept her at his house but Jolee would often visit. Jolee was a massive animal lover and had a dog, cat, and horse at her family’s home.

The Final Hike of Jolee Callan
Jolee Callan.

Jolee had just recently started dating another man but wanting to remain on good terms with Bunner, she accepted an invitation to go hiking with him on the 30th of August. It was around two months after they had broken up. She had texted her friend that the hiking trip was going to be a “symbolic friendship hike.”

However, it was on this hiking trip that Bunner snapped scenic photographs of Jolee before shooting her twice in the head and then throwing her body off a 50-foot cliff. He uploaded a series of photographs of Jolee in the state park onto his Instagram before killing her. The first photograph showed Jolee in the car with a dog on her lap with the caption: “On our way to go hiking <3” followed by a photograph of Jolee walking the dog.

The final two photographs showed Jolee at the top of the mountain, overlooking the picturesque view. Moments after uploading the final photograph, Bunner killed Jolee. After leaving the state park, he called 911 and was subsequently arrested. He made a full confession but claimed that he had killed Jolee as part of a suicide pact but had backed out after he killed her. Jolee had been shot in the back of the head and between the eyes.2

He pulled over to the side of the road and waited to be arrested.

On the 4th of September, Jolee’s loved ones gathered at Vincent Revival Center for her funeral following which she was interred at Vincent Cemetery. Her obituary read that she was “beloved by may family members and friends.”3

Just a couple of weeks later, Bunner posted that bond and was released from the Clay County Jail.

The following year, Bunner requested youthful offender status. If granted, that meant that he would waive his right to a trial by jury and would instead be tried by the court without a jury. He would also face a less severe sentence if convicted of Jolee’s murder.4

Meanwhile, Jolee’s loved ones gathered for a candlelight vigil at Vincent’s Municipal Park. Around 100 people showed up for the vigil. They wore purple shirts, carried candles and reminisced about Jolee. Her father, Michael, had posted on Facebook: “Let us come together to support each other, pray for justice for Jolee and ask for peace through this difficult time. Jolee’s warm presence, kindness and love throughout our lives is greatly missed.”5

The hearing to determine whether Bunner would be granted youthful offender status was postponed after his defence attorney requested more time for a psychiatric evaluation. Accord to defence attorney, Gregory Varner, Bunner may have Asperger’s syndrome.

His request read: “The existence of a mental disorder is certainly relevant to the defendant’s eligibility for youthful offender status. A medical determination of disorder is specifically relevant for a youthful hearing adjudication. If Asperger’s syndrome is present, there is a greater possibility of misinterpretation of behaviors and characteristics typical of those with Asperger’s syndrome since these behaviors and characteristics could be misinterpreted as evidence of guilt, indifference or lack of remorse.”6

The Final Hike of Jolee Callan

Ultimately, Bunner would be granted youthful offender status. The decision deeply upset Jolee’s family and prosecutors would ask the judge to reconsider the decision and in December, the youthful status was overturned. Circuit Court Judge George Simpson said that Bunner would instead be tried as an adult and would be facing felony murder charges, which could come with a sentence of life in prison.7

In January of 2017, Bunner appeared in court where he pleaded not guilty to the murder of Jolee.8 He was ordered to stand trial in mid-July. However, just days before the trial was scheduled to begin, Bunner appeared in court and pleaded guilty to Jolee’s murder, claiming that it was a suicide pact.9

According to Bunner, he and Jolee had planned on jumping together from the cliff but when they got there, they were too afraid to jump. He said that Jolee asked him to shoot her when she wasn’t looking and that after he killed her he couldn’t go through with taking his own life so got back into his car and called 911. He had also confessed to two inmates as well as multiple law enforcement agencies.

Clay County District Attorney Jeffrey Willis said: “This senseless and selfish crime has been a terrible loss to the family and friends of Jolee, and a loss to the community as a whole. Nothing that was done here can correct that. I am, however, grateful that we were able to conclude the case without the necessity of putting the Callan family through a lengthy trial.”10

Loren Bunner was sentenced to 52 years in prison and was ordered to pay $9,255.92 in restitution to the Alabama Crime Victims Commission.11

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Footnotes:

  1. The Anniston Star, 14 June, 2016 – “Family of Slain Shelby County Teenager Questions Suspect’s Youthful Offender Status”
  2. The Independent, 21 August, 2017 – “Teenager’s Final Hours Captured in Photos Taken by Ex-Boyfriend”
  3. Shelby County Reporter, 4 September, 2015 – “Vincent Man Charged with Killing 18-Year-Old Girl”
  4. Shelby County Reporter, 11 March, 2016 – “Suspect in Murder of Vincent Teen Asks for Youthful Status”
  5. Shelby County Reporter, 14 March, 2016 – “Family Remembers Victim as Suspect Requests Youthful Status”
  6. Shelby County Reporter, 5 April, 2016 – “Youthful Offender Hearing Delayed for Vincent Murder Suspect”
  7. Shelby County Reporter, 22 December, 2016 – “Vincent Murder Suspect’s Youthful Status Overturned”
  8. The Anniston Star, 4 January, 2017 – “Shelby County Man is Headed to Court on Murder Charge”
  9. Associated Press, 13 July, 2017 – “Man Sentenced in Girlfriend’s Death”
  10. The Daily Home, 13 Julym 2017 – “Shelby County Man Pleads Guilty to Murdering Ex-Girlfriend in Clay County”
  11. Shelby County Reporter, 13 July, 2017 – “Bunner Gets 52 Years in Prison for Killing Ex-Girlfriend”

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AusAsh
AusAsh
2 years ago

I’m glad he got that sentence and wasn’t let off lightly. I like America’s justice system better than the crap Australia has in place. Child killers, murderers, paedophiles, rapists ect get off way too easily here

Paul
Paul
2 years ago

Suicide pact, my ass.
This was a classic case of “If I can’t have you, nobody else will.”

Lisa
Lisa
2 years ago

There is a typo. You write “suicide pack” instead of “pact” but the second time it’s right 🙂

Terry
Terry
2 years ago

Just curious. How is this scarecrow going to pay nearly $9300 if he’s doing time? Our morals and justice system are so messed up, it’s no wonder crimes like this are being committed.

Twinxahoy
Twinxahoy
2 years ago
Reply to  Terry

He makes the money by working inside the prison systems, certain programs are offered for such things. You have to buy the things you get in prison so you make money by working in these said programs. You have to pay for shampoo, body wash, extra clothing, socks, and even snacks like vanilla wafers and other small sweet snacks. Also, don’t blame the American prison system for people committing such horrific crimes. Of course our justice system is messed up it was created in the 1800’s, but that doesn’t make a killer. The way they were brought up and certain… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by Twinxahoy
JessMcNulty
JessMcNulty
2 years ago
Reply to  Twinxahoy

Exactly this. Absent parents are sometimes ordered to spend a certain amount of time in jail, earning the money to pay off child support debt. My nieces father owed thousands and spent 60 days in a NH jail, working 8hrs a day and earning $30 a day which was paid to my sister. Seems this murderer will work for a year or more to pay his debt to Alabama Also, an Aspergers diagnosis doesn’t justify murder. (Not responding to you). I know several people with this diagnosis, who do generally fail to pick up on social cues, but certainly do… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by JessMcNulty
Karen Wickersham
Karen Wickersham
11 months ago

So, what in the heck happened to the dog?
Don’t any reporters care about this?

Sharon Banta
Sharon Banta
1 month ago

He should get a stronger sentence because the murder was premeditated.

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