A COUPLE face the death penalty for allegedly killing a three-year-old who was found dead in a dumpster with meth in her system.
Kamille ‘Cupcake’ McKinney was allegedly lured from outside a block of flats in Birmingham, Alabama, using a trail of sweets in October 2019.
Patrick Devone Stallworth, 40, and Derick Irisha Brown, 30, were both indicted on murder charges on Tuesday over the girl’s horrific death.
They face the death penalty if they’re convicted of the death of the little girl, who was abducted during a birthday party in 12 October 2019, sparking a 10-day manhunt that captivated the US.
The little girl was found dead in a dumpster with high levels of meth and sedatives present in her system.
In December 2019, homicide detective Jonathon Ross detailed the pair’s actions that lead up to McKinney’s death.
Stallworth purchased $81.91 worth of candy at a Shell gas station near Tom Brown Village, where McKinney lived, and surveillance footage showed him attempting to give it away to children, as reported by WMBA.
Minutes later, Stallworth offered to preteen girls candy and allegedly told one of them: "I'm looking for a girl that looks like you," according to Ross.
Video footage and help from local residents helped authorities pin the couple with the van before they were taken into custody.
Stallworth was interviewed three times, before being released on bOnd according to Ross.
Allegedly, during the interview Stallworht denied knowing anything about the toddler but admitted he bought the candy at Shell and was in the Tom Brown Village the night McKinney went missing.
Brown allegedly tipped investigators off to where Cupcake's body was, according to the defense.
The toddler's 10-day-old body was found inside a dumpster near an apartment complex close to the couple's building.
Ross said that a 10-year-old boy told him that McKinney got into the car with the couple whilst she was crying.
Both suspects were arrested two days after the toddler went missing, on unrelated charges.
Stallworth was charged with seven counts of possession of child pornogrpahy after investiagtors found evidence on his phone, none of which were McKinney.
Brown was charged with violating probation conditions from a previous kidnapping case involving her own children.
Both Brown and Stallworth still blame each other.
Timeline of Kamille ‘Cupcake’ McKinney’s dissapearence and murder
October 12, 2019: Kamille ‘Cupcake’ McKinney is reported missing from a birthday party at a playground in Birmingham, Alabama at 8:30pm.
October 14, 2019: Patrick Devone Stallworth, 39, and his 29-year-old girlfriend, Derick Irisha Brown are arrested on separate charges but are then named as persons of interest in Kamille's disappearance
October 18, 2019: Police release surveillance footage to the public, showing the night Kamille was abducted and a man approaching her at the park she was last seen at. The man approached her at the Tom Brown public housing projects and walked off with her
October 22, 2019: Police announce that they've found Kamille's remains in a trash bin near a landfill from where the three-year-old was taken
October 24, 2019: Police charge Stallworth and Brown with capital murder of a child under age 14
July 29, 2020 " A federal grand jury indicts Stallworth and Brown on conspiracy to kidnap and kidnapping resulting in the death of a minor
August 20, 2020: Stallworth and Brown both plead not guilty to the charges against them
January 5, 2021 – The couple are indicted on state charges of kidnapping and murder. A judge sets a pre-trial hearing date for March 31 2021
The news of the charges comes after the remains of Kamille McKinney tested positive for methamphetamine and antidepressant Tazadone.
Court tesimtony revealed the disturbing details of the case in the three-year-olds kidnapping and murder hearing.
Evidence from a mattress inside Stallworth and Brown’s shared apartment showed a mixture of the couple’s DNA as well as Cupcake’s, prosecutors stated.
They also mentioned that meth and Tazodone, which was prescribed to Stallworth for sleep, were found in the toddler's remains.
DNA from Stallworth was also found under McKinney’s fingernails and officers said that Stallworth had scratches on his chest when he was brought into custody.
‘’The kidnapping of a child is one of a parent's biggest fears.” said Lloyd C. Peeples, First Assistant United States Attorney, when the couple were federally charged with the kidnapping in July.
The state charges come after the pair were indicted federally with kidnap by a grand jury in July, in August the pair were arraigned and both pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday afternoon Jefferson County Judge Clyde Jones set a March 31 date for a pre-trial hearing.
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