Birmingham police have recovered the body of 3-year-old Kamille McKinney in a dumpster. The little girl, affectionately known as “Cupcake” disappeared after attending a birthday party at a housing project on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Birmingham police and FBI agents found the body in a dumpster on Tuesday, Oct 22, Al.com reports.
“We found the remains of a child that we believe to be Kamille,” said Police Chief Patrick Smith on Tuesday.
“This is a tough moment for this city. This is a tough moment for this family,” said Mayor Randall Woodfin.
“More than ever, this family needs us all,” Woodfin said. “So tonight, we mourn as one.”
Police released surveillance footage on Friday that shows a man approach Kamille as she played in the front yard of a residence at the Tom Brown Village housing project around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The man was positively identified as Patrick Stallworth, 39, who was arrested last week with his girlfriend, 29-year-old Derick Irisha Brown.
Police plan to charge Stallworth and Brown with capital murder and kidnapping in Kamille’s death, said Smith.
“We believe that this was something they thought about and acted upon and they saw an opportunity to take a young child, and they did,” Woodfin said Tuesday. “At this moment that we’re standing in, I ask one thing of this community: not to take sides and not to finger point. But if there is any finger pointing to do it is only at the perpetrator, who would kidnap an innocent 3-year-old.”
Stallworth was released from police custody after posting $500,000 bond last week. Police had hoped he would lead them to the child’s body. He was re-arrested on Tuesday night. Brown is still being held without bond on unrelated charges of kidnapping her own children.
Stallworth owned a Toyota Sequoia similar to the one a witness saw fleeing the scene after a man snatched Kamille off the street.
He was charged with multiple counts of possessing child pornography on his cell phone with intent to distribute.
Kamille’s mother did not give interviews at the request of the police, Smith said.
“We did not see the benefit of throwing the mother in front of the camera,” Smith said.
Kamille’s father, Dominic, was very vocal while his daughter was missing.
He said she would never get in the car with a stranger.
“She’s not no little girl that’s going to go get in the back. She’s not friendly like that,” Dominic said.
