Remains of 3-year-old Kamille 'Cupcake' McKinney found by police in a dumpster, couple in custody
The body of missing child Kamille 'Cupcake' McKinney was found by Birmingham Police in a dumpster on late Tuesday, according to police chief Patrick Smith. The child was abducted from a birthday party on Saturday, October 12 and had been missing for 10 days.
In a press conference, Smith said that they had found the remains of a child that they believe was the missing girl near Derick Irisha Brown, 29 and 39-year-old Patrick Stallworth's home, who are suspects in the case and currently in custody. They will be charged with capital murder and kidnapping charges. The couple has, however, said they are innocent. The police have not yet found a connection between the couple and Kamille's family.
Prior to finding the body of the child, Stallworth was held by the police for 48 hours and charged with possession of child pornography and intent to distribute it. Images were found on his phone but none matched the missing child. The preliminary hearing for these charges is set for November 12.
According to the police, the last image of Kamille was seen outside in a parking lot of the Tom Brown Village public housing. She was reportedly taken by a black male into an SUV which on further probe was revealed to be a Toyota Sequoia. An Amber Alert for the child was issued hours later on Sunday. "It only takes a split second. We can no longer assume that everyone is a part of the village that's trying to raise the child. We cannot take those things for granted," Smith said.
The exact motive for the crime has not been revealed yet and Smith said that it was premeditated. "They saw an opportunity to take a young child, which they did. Our further investigations will reveal what happened after that," he said. They also don't know if Kamille was taken instead of the other child in the video from the parking lot.