In a case that deeply saddened the community of Birmingham, Alabama, 3-year-old Kamille 'Cupcake' McKinney was tragically killed in October 2019. The young African American girl was attending a birthday party at the Tom Brown Village public housing community on October 12 when she was lured away. Children at the party reported seeing a man in an SUV giving out candy before Kamille vanished.
For ten days, her family and the city held out hope for her safe return as an extensive search was conducted. The search came to a devastating end on October 22, when her body was discovered in a dumpster that had been taken to a local landfill. An autopsy later revealed that Kamille's cause of death was asphyxiation by suffocation, and it was determined that she had been killed the same day she was abducted.
The investigation quickly led authorities to two suspects: Patrick Devone Stallworth, 39, and his girlfriend, Derick Irisha Brown, 29. The couple was identified as persons of interest shortly after Kamille’s disappearance, and a vehicle matching the description of the SUV seen at the abduction site led police to them. There was no known connection between the suspects and Kamille's family. Investigators believe the couple had planned to abduct a child and saw an opportunity with Kamille. During the investigation, it was discovered that Kamille had methamphetamine and a sedative called Trazodone in her system. Evidence also included a mattress from the suspects' apartment which contained a mixture of DNA from both Stallworth, Brown, and Kamille.
Stallworth and Brown were arrested and subsequently charged with capital murder and kidnapping. In addition to the state charges, federal charges of kidnapping resulting in death were also filed against them. In separate federal trials, both Stallworth and Brown were found guilty. In October 2022, a jury convicted Stallworth, and the following month, Brown was also found guilty of kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap a minor, with the jury finding that Kamille's death resulted from the kidnapping. Both were sentenced to life in prison on the federal charges. As of mid-2024, they were still awaiting their state trials on capital murder charges, for which they could face the death penalty.
