A three-year-old Alabama girl, Kamille “cupcake” McKinney who was missing since Oct. 12, was found dead inside a dumpster at a landfill in Birmingham on Tuesday. Two people were taken into custody the same day.

The accused were identified as Derick Irisha Brown, 29, and her boyfriend Patrick Devone Stallworth, 36, and police were seeking warrants for capital murder and kidnapping charges against them.

Kamille was last seen at an outdoor birthday party on Oct. 12 at the Tom Brown Village public housing complex. She was wearing a pink Minnie Mouse shirt at the time.

"We believe this was something they thought about and acted upon. They saw an opportunity to take a young child, and they did," said Patrick Smith, Birmingham police chief. Police are yet to find out the main objective behind the murder.

Stallworth was arrested after officers located a vehicle near the kidnapping site. He was previously charged with child pornography, but authorities said the charge wasn't related to the missing child. There is no clear information on how long the child has been dead.

A video released last week by the police showing two small children, one of them Kamille, playing at the housing complex, when two men walked past. One of them appeared to stop and talk to the children. Birmingham police said on Oct .18 that they were working to identify the men.

"It's the second male that comes up and engages the children. And so the first male who walks by in this video, he may have pertinent information that will help us," Smith said.

Before finding the body, Kamille's father, 27-year-old Dominic McKinney, had said he just wanted his "Cupcake" back. Dominic said he named his daughter Cupcake because when she was born, she was cute and red with small brown eyes resembling a cupcake.

Mayor Randall Woodfin said the child’s parents are in “unimaginable” agony and it was a harsh moment for the city as well as the family. Governor Kay Ivey offered her condolences to the child’s family.

"The heart of our state is broken...," Ivey said. "Our prayers remain with Kamille's family and all who have been touched by this nightmare."

Arrested
Here, a photo shows a handcuffed man at the police headquarters in Lille, northern France, Nov. 29, 2018. Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES