BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Latest on the kidnapping and murder of 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney (all times local):
1:15 p.m.
Jefferson County DA discusses the investigation
Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr spoke to CBS 42’s Robert Sherman about the investigation into Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s murder.
Carr says investigating authorities believe McKinney died of asphyxiation.
If found guilty of capital murder, the two suspects charged in McKinney’s case could face the death penalty, the DA said.
12 p.m.
Warrant alleges Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney died by asphyxiation
The two suspects in Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s murder made their first court appearances at the Jefferson County Courthouse this morning.
Patrick Stallworth and Derrick Irisha Brown, have been issued no bond. According to warrants read aloud by Judge Clyde Jones, Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney died on Oct. 12 by asphyxiation. Brown has been assigned a public defender, and Stallworth will attempt to hire an attorney. Both will be back in court at 9 a.m. on Nov. 4.
“I don’t know why I’m being charged with the murder of this child,” Stallworth said to Judge Jones.
A preliminary hearing will be set after Stallworth lets the judge know his status on securing an attorney.
9 a.m.
Crime Stoppers establishes memorial fund in honor of Cupcake
The Birmingham Police Department hosted a press conference Friday morning to address the latest information on the Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s murder investigation. Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith was first to address the media, speaking of the nature of Crime Stoppers and how the upcoming announcement was unprecedented for the organization.
“Crime Stoppers was never set up to deal with missing children. It has always helped us in law enforcement when it comes to identifying someone on a video when it comes to providing tips as it relates to crime. They always work with law enforcement as we look for wanted persons, but never anything about our children,” Chief Patrick Smith said.
Frank Barefield, Chairman of Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama came forward to announce a new service for law enforcement.
“All of us mourn the loss of Kamille. We send our deepest sympathies to the family. During the searching the search we received probably more tips than we have than ever before over 400 tips. Several of these tips were very helpful to investigators and we will be paying rewards to those anonymous tips that were helpful to investigators.”
Crime Stoppers received over $35,000 in donations in efforts to get information that could lead to Kamille’s recovery.
“It probably would have been probably $50,000 but toward the end of the investigation when we decided where we wanted the reward to be at $20,000 we asked people not to send any more money. We took down their contact information and said we would get in touch with them if we needed to,” said Barefield.
With the excess contributions from donors, Crime Stoppers will establish the Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney Memorial Reward Fund. The fund will provide money to law enforcement agencies with future abductions and disappearances of children.