Police said officers answering a missing-child call late Friday found Katheryn Bigbee injured inside her home, and another juvenile was later charged with murder.
PIEDMONT, AL — A 10-year-old girl died after she was found with severe injuries inside her home late Friday night in Piedmont, and another juvenile has been taken into custody and charged with murder, police said.
The case has shaken this small east Alabama community because it began with what police first received as a missing-child report and quickly turned into a homicide investigation involving two children. Authorities have identified the victim as Katheryn Bigbee, a Piedmont Elementary School student. Police and the Calhoun County coroner have released only limited details, saying the investigation is active and that the ages of those involved prevent them from discussing much more in public.
Police Chief Nathan Johnson said officers were called at about 10:51 p.m. Friday, April 17, after Katheryn’s parents heard a noise and realized she was no longer in her bedroom. The report initially came in as a missing child case, prompting officers to respond to a home in the Asberry church area of Piedmont, according to Johnson. Once there, officers found Katheryn inside the home with what Johnson described as extensive injuries. First responders treated her at the scene before taking her to a hospital, where she later died. By the next day, authorities had publicly confirmed that another juvenile was in custody and had been charged with murder. “When the parents were alerted by some noise and they got up to see what the noise was, the child wasn’t in the bedroom,” Johnson said in remarks carried by local television stations. That, he said, is what led to the missing-person call that brought officers to the house.
On Tuesday, April 21, Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown publicly identified the girl as Katheryn Aliceanna Bigbee and said she had been stabbed multiple times. That finding turned the broad outline of the case into a clearer homicide record, though officials still did not say how the juvenile suspect and Katheryn knew each other, how old the accused person is, or what investigators believe happened inside the home before police arrived. Authorities also have not described a motive, whether any weapon was recovered, or whether anyone else was inside the house at the time of the attack. Johnson has said only that another juvenile was taken into custody and charged with murder. Because the suspect is a minor, the person’s name has not been released. Police also have not said whether prosecutors will seek to move the case from juvenile court into adult court, a step that can happen in some serious felony cases but has not been announced here. For now, the public record remains narrow: a child is dead, another child is charged, and investigators are withholding most of the evidence while they continue to build the case.
The death has drawn an intense response in Piedmont, where Katheryn was remembered not through crime-scene details but through the routines of school and family life that ended suddenly. Piedmont Elementary School said it was “heartbroken” by the loss of one of its students and described Katheryn as a child who brought smiles, kindness and a bright light to the school’s halls. In the school’s remembrance, officials said she had a “joyful, spunky personality” and loved reading. The school said grief counselors would be available for students and staff as classmates and teachers processed the loss. Her obituary and funeral notices added other details that placed her life beyond the headlines. Katheryn was born in Anniston on Aug. 6, 2015, and spent part of her early childhood in California before returning to Alabama to attend school in Piedmont. Her family said she loved animals, especially cats, and would burst into song without warning. Those details, repeated in school statements and memorial notices, have become part of how the community is trying to understand a crime that police have not yet fully explained.
Procedurally, the case is at an early stage. Police have said the investigation remains active and ongoing, and Johnson has said no further details will be released for now because juveniles are involved. A murder charge has been announced, but authorities have not publicly outlined the court schedule, any detention decision, or the next hearing date for the accused juvenile. In cases involving minors, many court records are not open in the same way adult criminal filings are, which means basic information often emerges slowly. What is known is that the suspect is already in custody and that investigators continue to work the case. The coroner’s ruling that Katheryn suffered multiple stab wounds provides a central piece of the evidentiary timeline, but many other facts remain unsettled in public view, including the exact sequence of events inside the home and whether additional forensic results are still pending. Police have not announced any broader threat to the public, nor have they indicated that they are seeking other suspects. Their public posture has been narrow and controlled: preserve the case, protect juvenile identities and release only what can be confirmed.
Even with so many unanswered questions, the voices emerging from Piedmont have centered on grief. Johnson called the case heartbreaking for “everyone involved” and for the community as a whole. One local resident, Adrian Fitten, told television reporters that the news was devastating to hear and said he felt for the family. Funeral arrangements announced this week underscored how quickly the case moved from emergency response to mourning. Visitation and funeral services for Katheryn were set for Monday, April 27, at Thompson Funeral Home in Piedmont. Her family’s obituary thanked first responders who were there with her and the people who had offered support and prayers in the days after her death. A fundraising page was also created to help the family. Those public expressions of loss have filled some of the silence left by the investigation. The official record remains spare, but the community response has made clear how widely the death of one child has been felt in a city where school, church and family networks are closely tied.
As of Wednesday, authorities had identified Katheryn, confirmed she died from multiple stab wounds and said a juvenile remained charged with murder. The next public milestone is likely to come when police, the coroner or the courts release new information about the case or any upcoming hearing.
Author note: Last updated April 23, 2026.