'Cupcake' McKinney update: Couple pleads not guilty to federal kidnapping charges
08/24/2020 4:42 pm PDT
via WHNT:
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WHNT) -- The couple accused of kidnapping and murdering Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney last year have pleaded not guilty to federal kidnapping charges against them.
During an arraignment hearing on Thursday, Aug. 20, Patrick Stallworth and Derick Brown pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap McKinney, a 3-year-old girl who was taken during a birthday party at the Tom Brown Village housing project last October. Her body was found 10 days later in a dumpster in Jefferson County.
They pleaded not guilty to the federal charges during their arraignment in Birmingham federal court Thursday, AL.com reports.
Stallworth and Brown are also charged with capital murder in McKinney's death. Both Stallworth and Brown face the death penalty if convicted of the state charges.
TRUE CRIME DAILY: Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney case coverage - TCD
According to testimony in a preliminary hearing last year for Stallworth, the remains of Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney tested positive for methamphetamine and Trazodone, an anti-depressant used to treat insomnia.
Prosecutors also said investigators found a mixture of blood and DNA from Brown, Stallworth and McKinney on a mattress in the couple's apartment.
Investigators know of no link between the accused and the girl or her family.
In December, during statements in Brown's preliminary hearing, Judge Clyde Jones said: "It's evident that Brown and Stallworth worked together and that one or both of them sexually abused McKinney and caused her death."
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