BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — On Thursday, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr announced that Patrick Devone Stallworth and Derick Irisha Brown have both been charged with capital murder of a victim less than 14 years old in the death of 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney.
“As of this afternoon, criminal charges have formally been filed against two individuals for the death of 3-year-old Kamille ‘Cupcake’ McKinney,” Carr said.
Stallworth, 39, and Brown, 29, have been persons of interest in the case ever since McKinney had been taken during a party at the Tom Brown Village housing community on Oct. 12. The following day, the two were located at a Center Point condominium and brought in for questioning.
By Oct. 15, Stallworth and Brown were charged in unrelated cases.
“During the investigation, detectives interviewed both subjects in relation to the disappearance of Kamille McKinney,” Smith said during a press conference announcing their arrests. “Although investigators were unable to gather pertinent information on the location of Kamille McKinney, evidence was obtained to allow detectives to obtain warrants on both subjects.”
At the time, police charged Stallworth were with four counts of possession of child pornography and three county of possession of child pornography with the intent to distribute. He was jailed on a $500,000 bond, which he subsequently posted and was released a day later.
Smith said that at the time of his arrest Oct. 13 for questioning, there were multiple images of underage girls on his phone, none of which were McKinney.
Stallworth has no felony convictions on his record. With the exception of the child pornography charges and a few traffic violations, Stallworth had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree marijuana possession in 2004 and was put on probation for six months. first-degree possession of marijuana. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to first-degree possession of marijuana and was required to complete drug court.
Brown had her bond revoked and has been in jail ever since her arrest. Originally, Brown is facing charges in an unrelated, ongoing kidnapping case from 2018 where she allegedly took her three children from DHR at gunpoint after she lost custody of them and led police in a pursuit. At the time, she was charged with three counts of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree assault, attempting to elude and four count of reckless endangerment.
Last November, the kidnapping charges were dismissed, but a grand jury indicted her on three kidnapping charges.
The reasons for Brown’s bond revocation were detailed in a court document filed Oct. 15 by Deputy District Attorney Shawn Allen.
“The State has learned that during the course of being questioned on an unrelated matter, the Defendant admitted to the Birmingham Police Department that she made efforts to contact victims and/or witness in the case in violation of the conditions of the Defendant’s bond,” Allen stated.
The motive for why McKinney was kidnapped and, ultimately, killed remain a mystery.
“I can tell you what we believe at this point,” Smith said during a press conference announcing the recovery of McKinney Wednesday. “We believe that this was something that they thought about and acted upon and they saw an opportunity to take a young child, which they did. Our further investigation will reveal whatever actions were taken after that.”
Smith said there is no indication that Stallworth and Brown knew McKinney or her family.
Carr said Stallworth and Brown would be transported to the Jefferson County Jail and be held on no bond. Carr did not take questions during the press conference due to the ongoing investigation in the case.
“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the family as they grieve the loss of Kamille,” Carr said.
