A former west Alabama jail nurse said she overheard accused kidnapper Patrick Stallworth admit to a crime in a conversation with one of her co-workers.

Stallworth, who is on trial in federal court for the 2019 deadly abduction of 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney, has been held in the Pickens County Jail as a federal inmate.

The U.S. Marshal’s Service uses several county jails to house their prisoners, including Pickens.

Phyllis Cox, who worked at the Pickens County Jail, testified Thursday that she overheard a conversation between Stallworth and Toni Crowell, who worked as a nurse’s assistant at the lockup.

“I may have raped her, but I didn’t killer,’’ Stallworth reportedly told Cox’s co-worker. “She did that,’’ he said referring to his girlfriend, Derick Irisha Brown.

The 42-year-old Stallworth and Derick Irisha Brown, 32, are both charged federally with kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap a minor.

Brown’s trial is set for Nov. 14 in federal court in Tuscaloosa. The U.S. Department of Justice previously ruled it will not seek the death penalty in the federal charges.

Both still are charged with capital murder in state court. No state trial dates have yet been set.

Read Full Coverage of the Kamille “Cupcake McKinney investigation and trial

Cupcake vanished from a birthday party at Tom Brown Village public housing community on Oct. 12, 2019. Her body was found at the landfill 10 days later.

Chief U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler is presiding over the trial. Lloyd Peeples, chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Criminal Division, along with assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany Byrd and Blake Milner, are prosecuting the case. Stallworth is represented by Birmingham attorney Derrick Collins.

Federal prosecutors rested their case mid-afternoon Thursday after 2 ½ days of testimony from 22 witnesses.

When it was the defense’s turn to present their case, Collins called the assistant jail nurse who testified that she that she had no recollection of Stallworth saying he may have raped Cupcake.

“I didn’t hear it,’’ Crowell testified.

But prosecutor Peeples quickly attempted to impeach Crowell’s testimony.

Under cross examination, Crowell testified that she and Stallworth often spoke by phone after she got off work. “Did he tell you he loved you? Did you tell him you loved him?” Peeples asked.

“I don’t remember,’’ Crowell said.

Recorded phone calls from the jail were played, in which Stallworth told Crowell, “I dream about you,’’ and he even was heard singing a song to her.

“That’s a church song,’’ Crowell testified. “We mostly talked about church.”

On the phone call, Stallworth could be heard saying, “1-4-3′’ which is code for “I love you.” There is one letter in “I,” four letters in “love” and three letters in “you.”

“Care and love to me is the same thing,’’ Crowell said.

At one point Peeples asked Crowell about something Stallworth was heard saying on the call. “Did he say, ‘I need some of that hiney?’’’ to which Crowell said, “I thought he said ‘honey.’’

“That works too,’’ Peeples said.

Crowell said she befriend Stallworth because he wasn’t treated well in jail. “He said everybody treated him bad,’’ she said. “That’s why I started to talking to him.”

Asked if there was a sexual relationship, Crowell said no. “We were just friends,’’ she said. “He needed someone to confide in.”

Crowell testified that there are rumors that Stallworth was sexually involved with another jail employee – a relative of hers – but those rumors weren’t confirmed.

Collins also called two character witnesses on Stallworth’s behalf – his stepfather and a preacher who had known Stallworth since he was in high school.

Both testified that they considered Stallworth a “peaceful” man.

Asked by prosecutors if they would change their minds about that if Stallworth had watched someone kill someone and done nothing to stop it, both said it would not change their minds.

The trial will continue Friday with closing arguments and jurors are expected to begin their deliberations later Friday morning.