Two Birmingham, Ala., residents were sentenced for kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap a minor.
Patrick Devone Stallworth, 42, and Derick Irisha Brown, 32, both of Birmingham, Alabama, were sentenced by a federal judge to life in prison "in separate but related cases," according to a March 3 news release issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office for state's Northern District said.
"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 Prim F. Escalona said in the news release. "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.”
U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Stallworth and Brown after separate juries found the two guilty in the kidnapping and death of 3-year-old Kamille "Cupcake" McKinney, whose body was found Oct. 22, 2019, the release reported. Birmingham police responded to a report 10 days earlier that the child had gone missing near Birmingham's Tom Brown Village Housing Development, the same day Stallworth and Brown drove to the development in a Toyota Sequoia.
"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," FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. 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."
