BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Following a trial that spanned a week, a jury found a woman guilty of kidnapping a 3-year-old girl from a party in Birmingham in 2019, turning up dead days later.
Derick Brown, 32, was found guilty of kidnapping that resulted in death and one count of conspiracy to kidnap a minor.
On October 12, 2019, McKinney was kidnapped during a party in the Tom Brown Village housing project in Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood. Her disappearance sparked both a city and statewide search for the girl. While McKinney was still missing, police developed Brown and her boyfriend, Patrick Stallworth, as suspects and questioned them on the girl’s disappearance.
Ten days later on October 22, 2019, former Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith reported that remains that were believed to be those of McKinney had been found in a dumpster near an apartment building in Center Point where Brown and Stallworth had been staying. The next day, Smith confirmed that the remains, which had been taken to a landfill to be inspected, had been positively identified as being McKinney.
During the trial, Brown’s attorneys claimed that Stallworth was actually the one at fault, not Brown. They claimed she was in Tom Brown Village the night of McKinney’s kidnapping to see the father of her children, Kelvin Nail. However, Nail testified that he was not there that night and that there were not any plans to meet that night.
Prosecutors maintained that Brown had the chance to save McKinney’s life, but chose not to.
Both Brown and Stallworth were subsequently arrested and charged with both state and federal charges related to kidnapping and capital murder. Last month, Stallworth was convicted on federal kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap charges. He is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Brown and Stallworth are also facing capital murder charges in Jefferson County for McKinney’s death.