Kamille McKinney: Slain toddler’s cousin says suspect is being ‘framed’ for murder

A family member of a 3-year-old Alabama girl who was found murdered in a dumpster earlier this month reportedly believes police have arrested the wrong person for the crime.

Shuntae Long told WTVM on Thursday that she believes Patrick Stallworth, 39, is not responsible for Kamille McKinney’s abduction and murder. Some of McKinney’s relatives reportedly doubt whether Stallworth and his girlfriend, Derick Brown, 29, are the culprits, but are unsure who did it.

“I believe he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel deep in my heart someone framed him,” Long said, referring to Stallworth.

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McKinney, who vanished on October 12 during a birthday party at a Birmingham public housing community, was reportedly found suffocated 10 days later in a dumpster located at the Woodside Condominiums in Center Point.

Surveillance footage appears to show a man approach McKinney and another young child before taking off with McKinney. Children who attended the party reportedly said a man was handing out candy before he put the barefoot toddler in a Toyota Sequoia and drove off.

Long told WTVM that she does not understand why the other young child, who is her niece, was not abducted as well. She went on to say that she feels her cousin’s abduction and subsequent murder were “personal.”

Authorities apprehended Stallworth and Brown at the Woodside Condominiums a day after McKinney’s disappearance. The Toyota Sequoia that was sought in the investigation was reportedly located at the residence.

While detained as a person of interest, Stallworth was charged with multiple counts of child pornography after investigators reportedly found photos of young girls on his phone. They said the images did not show McKinney.

Stallworth was rearrested upon the discovery of the toddler’s body. Meanwhile, Brown has remained in custody as authorities filed a motion to revoke her bond in an unrelated 2018 abduction case involving her three children and the Department of Human Resources.

Stallworth and Brown remain jailed without bond. Their next court date is scheduled for November 4.

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[Featured image: Patrick Stallworth/Handout; Kamille McKinney/Facebook]