BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced two individuals, in separate but related cases, for kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap a minor victim, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Patrick Devone Stallworth, 42, and Derick Irisha Brown, 32, both of Birmingham, to life in prison.  Stallworth and Brown were convicted in 2022 of one count of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to kidnap a minor victim. The jury further found that the minor victim’s death resulted from the kidnapping.

According to court documents, on October 12, 2019, Birmingham Police Department responded to a report that a three-year-old girl was missing near the Tom Brown Village Housing Development in Birmingham, Alabama. Stallworth and Brown traveled in a Toyota Sequoia to the Tom Brown Village Housing Development on that day and kidnapped 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney.  Her body was found on October 22, 2019.  

“There is no greater responsibility for federal law enforcement than to investigate and prosecute those who commit senseless and horrendous acts of violence against young children.” U.S. Attorney Escalona said. “I want to personally thank the dozens of law enforcement members and community volunteers who assisted in both big and small ways in the investigation and bringing justice to the victim and her family.”

"While today’s sentencing can’t take away the pain or fill the void of loss for Kamille’s family, I sincerely hope there is some comfort in knowing those who committed this heinous crime have been brought to justice,” SAC Peeples said.  “The FBI and its’ law enforcement partners are committed to bringing to justice those who seek to prey on our children, the most vulnerable members of our society”.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Birmingham Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service.  Chief of the Criminal Division Lloyd C. Peeples and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Blake Milner and Brittany Byrd prosecuted the case.