Derick Irisha Brown, charged with capital murder in the 2019 deadly abduction of 3-year-old Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney, is pleading not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

The 32-year-old Brown and Patrick Stallworth, 42, were in a Jefferson County courtroom Thursday, where they face state charges in Cupcake’s death. Both entered pleas of not guilty, and Brown additionally entered her plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.

The pair was sentenced last week to life without parole in federal prison after they were found guilty of kidnapping that resulted in death and conspiracy to kidnap a minor victim.

After the federal sentencing Friday, they were booked back into the Jefferson County Jail to attend state court this morning.

The state pleas were entered before Jefferson County Circuit Judge Alaric May. The judge said the trials are expected to be held in 2024.

If tried and convicted, both could face the death penalty.

Brown is represented by Adam Danneman and Blair Shores of the Jefferson County Public Defender’s Office. Stallworth is represented by attorneys Derrick Collins and Rolando Rankin.

Assistant District Attorneys Neal Zarzour and Misty Reynolds are prosecuting.

Prosecutors contended that Stallworth and Brown planned all day to kidnap a child and did so on Oct. 12, 2019, at Birmingham’s Tom Brown Village public housing community.

The motive, they have previously said, could have been for Stallworth’s sexual gratification or because Brown had lost custody of her six children and wanted another child.

Stallworth and Brown were in a relationship at the time of the abduction.

Testimony and evidence in both trials showed the couple’s movements all day that Saturday, which included a stop at a Shell service station near Tom Brown Village where Stallworth was seen on video buying $18.91 in candy.

Then, a short time later, a 12-year-old girl said Stallworth stopped her as she was leaving cheerleading practice at Hayes K-8 and asked her if she wanted some candy. She ran away.

Later, Stallworth and Brown were seen sitting in their Toyota Sequoia on a street and, when confronted by a resident, Brown asked where were all the children that used to play on the circle. That woman testified that Brown seemed overly interested in children.

Video from Tom Brown Village that night showed Stallworth talking to two little girls – Cupcake and her best friend/cousin Ava, also 3, before they walked off screen with him.

Ava, according to testimony, would later say when asked where Cupcake went, “Cupcake got in the car with that man. He took her to get candy at the store. I not want no candy.”

Since their 2019 arrests, Stallworth and Brown have blamed each other for the abduction and death of Cupcake.

Stallworth claimed Brown had taken the girl, saying she wanted to keep her, and he also said the Brown wanted him to sexually touch the girl. He told detectives that Brown “put Cupcake to sleep” by putting her hands over her nose and mouth.

Medical experts have previously testified that Cupcake died by asphyxia. She had methamphetamine, Trazodone and Benadryl in her system.

Dr. Daniel Dye, of the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Office said the meth and Trazodone contributed to the baby’s death.