Alabama Law Enforcement Agency(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.) — Authorities believe they have recovered the body of a missing Alabama toddler who was kidnapped while attending a birthday party earlier this month.
Police said they recovered what appeared to be the body of 3-year-old Kamille McKinney in a Birmingham dumpster not far from where she disappeared nine days ago, the Birmingham Police Department announced Tuesday. The department also said it plans to charge suspects Patrick Stallworth, 39, and Derick Irisha Brown, 29, with capital murder and kidnapping in connection to the case.
The suspects were arrested last week on unrelated charges and were named persons of interests in Kamille’s disappearance. Stallworth was arrested on child porn charges and Brown was jailed for violating probation conditions on a previous kidnapping charge.
“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,” Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith told reporters Tuesday. “I would like to thank the public for all of the information, all of the tips, all of the video and for their cooperation with this police department during the course of this investigation.”
Kamille was abducted near a Birmingham housing area on Oct. 12. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said investigators are not aware of any connections between the suspects and the victim’s family.
“Tonight our entire city is in mourning. Kamille is gone,” 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.”
Police on Friday released surveillance footage from the night Kamille was abducted. In the video, two children, one of whom is believed to Kamille, are seen playing outside.
One of the men in the video, who apparently “engages the children,” is a suspect, Smith said previously.
“The first man who walked by in the video, he may have pertinent information that will help us,” Smith said last week. “This is the male we’re looking for … we want to talk to him … if he saw something that night that may be critical to the investigation.”
Police do not yet know a motive for the abduction.
A $28,000 reward had been offered to find the little girl.
“If you have her and you’re not sure what to do … please bring her to one of our fire stations, police station, a hospital,” Smith said at an earlier press conference. “If you don’t know what to do or where to go and you’re frightened, we’re here to help you … please bring her to a safe location.”
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