BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — During a hearing Tuesday for Patrick Stallworth, one of the suspects in the murder of Birmingham girl Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney, prosecutors said that meth and a sedative were found in the 3-year-old’s body.
Patrick Stallworth, 39, was charged in late October with capital murder, alongside 29-year-old Derick Irisha Brown, in Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s death. On Tuesday, the court found probable cause to send his capital murder case to a grand jury.
Stallworth and Brown have been persons of interest in the case ever since the toddler’s abduction from a party at the Tom Brown Village public housing community on Saturday, Oct. 12.
McKinney died of asphyxiation that same day, investigators said. Her body was recovered 10 days later in a dumpster at a north Jefferson County landfill.
According to the prosecution’s argument, the evidence reveals Stallworth and Brown were together for the entirety of the Saturday McKinney disappeared. They say, around noon that day near Tom Brown Village, Stallworth and Brown offered candy to middle school girls.
Surveillance video shows Stallworth purchasing candy at a Shell station near Tom Brown just minutes before interacting with the girls. Surveillance video from a Center Point Parkway gas station also shows Stallworth purchasing a pill for erectile dysfunction and an energy drink later that night.
Prosecutors said phone records substantiate Stallworth’s admission that he was at the Tom Brown Village on Oct. 12.
Stallworth admitted to giving children candy at the housing authority, prosecutors said. The prosecution also pointed to a video from a Tom Brown resident showing an interaction between a man and children, who then follow him off-camera.
During lead homicide Detective Jonathan Ross’ testimony Tuesday, he said children told Birmingham police investigators they saw McKinney get into a vehicle matching the description of Stallworth’s SUV. The children said the driver had been handing out candy at Tom Brown Village, Ross testified.
Evidence from a mattress inside the suspects’ apartment indicates blood and a mixture of DNA from Stallworth, Brown, and McKinney, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said meth and Trazodone, the latter of which was prescribed to Stallworth for sleep, was found in McKinney’s system.
According to the defense, there was no DNA evidence of a sexual assault and no indication that she was killed or abducted by Stallworth. The defense claims he went to sleep at his apartment and upon waking, saw Brown and McKinney on the couch. Stallworth then told Brown to take McKinney back home before he fell asleep again, the defense said. According to the defense, when Stallworth woke up, Brown was next to him in bed, and there was no sign of the child.
Prosecutors said Stallworth was interviewed multiple times and denied knowing anything about McKinney. After her body was found, he told investigators a different story. His defense says he lied in earlier interviews because “he loved Brown.” The defense says Stallworth’s presence at his apartment is not evidence of a crime and that it was Brown who told investigators where to find McKinney’s body.
Originally scheduled to be held jointly with Stallworth’s preliminary hearing, Brown’s hearing is taking place Friday before Judge Clyde Jones. If convicted, Stallworth and Brown could face the death penalty.
