This was the last photo take on the 18-year-old who can be seen taking a picture of the impressive view
A final photograph shows an 18-year-old woman moments before she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. The picture showed Jolee Callan seated in the front of Loren Bunner’s car with his dog. The caption read: “On our way to go hiking.”
Loren and Jolee were on a hike through the densely forested Pinhoti Trail area of Mount Cheaha, Alabama.
Before setting off, Loren, then 20, uploaded a photo of Jolee onto his Instagram account, the first of four snaps that day in August, 2015 2015, the Mirror reports.
Despite recent tensions between them, the pair appeared at ease with one another. They had been a couple, but had recently broken up. Jolee and Loren were now attempting to transition into being just friends.
The teen may have only stood at 4ft 10in, but her large heart made her a standout character. Although she was reserved, she relished performing in school plays, was studious and well-liked.
A year prior, she’d begun dating Loren. He was an introvert, but after a year of dating he had exerted a significant influence over Jolee.
Loren preferred her to socialise with his mates, or accompany him while he played computer games, and Jolee found herself striving to keep him happy. On several occasions, Jolee had attempted to break off the relationship, but Loren would emotionally manipulate her into reconciliation, threatening to take his own life if she refused.
Jolee found it simpler to relent, but having now finished high school and begun planning for college, she’d finally mustered the courage to end things permanently. While she moved forward, Loren kept calling her, pleading for another chance.
When Loren proposed going on the hike purely as friends, good-natured Jolee accepted. The evening before, Jolee texted a friend to mention she was heading out with Loren the following day.
She made a now-poignant quip, saying: “If something happens to me, you’ll know who I was with.” From the trek on August 30, Loren posted to his Instagram three additional times.
The final two snaps showed Jolee positioned on the brink of a cliff at the state park. Loren had captioned it: “Oh, ya know. Just enjoying the view.”
In the final image, Jolee appears to be snapping a photograph as she faces a misty mountain peak with her camera. It would be the final picture ever captured of the young woman.
Around 6pm that evening, Loren rang 911 from near the freeway and requested to speak with officers. “I want to turn myself in for the murder of my ex-girlfriend Jolee Callan that happened just a little while ago on Cheaha Mountain,” he coldly stated.
Shortly after, Jolee’s body was discovered at the base of a 40ft cliff on the Pinhoti Trail. She had been shot twice, once in the back of the head and once between the eyes, still wearing her backpack.
Police retrieved a Bear Claw .22 gun from Loren and found a significant amount of blood at the top of the cliff where the shooting occurred. There was also blood on Loren’s steering wheel.
When interrogated, Loren shocked investigators with his account. He confessed to police that he’d shot Jolee in the head as part of a suicide pact, before hurling her off a cliff. But when it came to his turn to end his life, he couldn’t follow through.
“She didn’t want to see it coming,” Loren stated, explaining why he’d shot her from behind. However, this didn’t clarify why he’d then flipped her over and shot the young girl between the eyes.
Police suspected that Loren had merely enticed Jolee to the secluded area with the intention of murdering her because he couldn’t persuade her to reconcile with him. Jolee exhibited absolutely no signs of depression. She was making plans for the future and there was no farewell note for her friends and family – it was entirely out of character.
Loren was charged with her murder and subsequently released on bail. Initially, a court decided that Loren would be tried as a youthful offender, meaning the harshest sentence he could receive was three years behind bars. This decision sparked outrage among Jolee’s family.
They breathed a sigh of relief when this ruling was overturned and it was determined he’d be tried as an adult. In a surprising turn of events, Loren, who had initially pleaded not guilty, later admitted to Jolee’s murder.
During the trial, Loren’s chilling 911 call, where he calmly confessed to killing Jolee, was played to the court. Prosecutors highlighted how he’d persuaded Jolee to go hiking with him, armed with a weapon.
The Instagram photos documenting Jolee’s final hours were heart-wrenching and displayed a complete lack of remorse from her murderer. The court heard that Loren had even boasted about the murder to his cell mates, stating he wasn’t sorry because if he couldn’t have her, no one would.
Given the high-profile nature of the case, emotions were running high and Loren was escorted from the court wearing a bulletproof vest. Family and friends paid tribute to Jolee by donning purple, her favourite colour that also symbolises domestic violence awareness.
Loren was handed a 52-year prison sentence in July 2017 and ordered to pay over £7,000 in restitution to the Alabama Crime Victims Commission. Following the sentencing, Jolee’s devastated father, Michael, who suffered a stroke after his daughter’s murder, expressed his relief at the outcome. “She was a sweet, sweet girl. I think she’s smiling today,” he said.
