In the early evening of May 23, 2022, a dispute in Birmingham, Alabama, ended in the tragic death of 32-year-old Alpatrick McKinstry, a Black male. Officers from the Birmingham Police Department were dispatched to the 1300 block of 60th Street in the Ensley neighborhood around 7:05 p.m. following a report of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered McKinstry unresponsive in the front yard of a residence, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel were called to the scene, where they pronounced him dead.
Witnesses at the scene reported that a woman had shot McKinstry before fleeing. The investigation quickly developed when a woman, later identified as 24-year-old Tykirel Jordan, called 911 from the nearby city of Fairfield. In her call, she admitted to having just shot a man on 60th Street Ensley. Officers located Jordan in Fairfield, took her into custody, and transported her to Birmingham Police Headquarters for questioning.
Following the investigation, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office issued a warrant for capital murder against Tykirel Jordan. The charge was elevated to capital murder because the shooting occurred in the presence of at least one child under the age of 14 that she shared with McKinstry. Under Alabama law, a murder committed in the presence of a child under 14, where the victim is the parent or legal guardian of that child, constitutes a capital offense. Jordan was subsequently booked into the Birmingham City Jail and held without bond.
However, the case took a significant turn when it went to trial. A Jefferson County jury acquitted Tykirel Jordan of the capital murder charge. Her defense team successfully argued that she had acted in self-defense. They portrayed McKinstry as a long-time abuser who, at 6 feet tall and over 220 pounds, was high on cocaine and methamphetamine during the incident. They claimed he was attempting to physically assault Jordan after an argument erupted when she dropped off one of his older daughters. Jordan's attorneys asserted that she fired a single, defensive shot to protect her own life. The prosecution contended that Jordan acted out of rage and chased McKinstry before shooting. Ultimately, the jury sided with the defense, finding the evidence of ongoing domestic abuse to be credible and ruling that Jordan's actions were justified as self-defense.
