Police say another juvenile was charged after 10-year-old Katheryn Aliceanna Bigbee was found Friday night at a home in Calhoun County.
PIEDMONT, Ala. — A 10-year-old girl who was reported missing late Friday was found with fatal stab wounds at a Piedmont home, authorities said, and another juvenile has been charged with murder in a case that has shaken the small Calhoun County city.
The case moved from a missing-child call to a homicide investigation in less than an hour, according to police accounts released over the past several days. On Tuesday, the Calhoun County coroner publicly identified the victim as Katheryn Aliceanna Bigbee and said she had been stabbed multiple times. Police have released little about the suspect because both children are juveniles, leaving family members, neighbors and school officials confronting a killing that has drawn intense local attention while many basic facts remain undisclosed.
Police Chief Nathan Johnson said officers were called shortly before 11 p.m. Friday after a report of a missing child. He said the case began when Katheryn’s parents heard a noise and realized one of the children was no longer in the bedroom. By the time officers arrived, the response had changed sharply. Johnson said first responders found the girl with severe injuries at the home and began treatment at the scene before she was taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. In a later update, the coroner said those injuries were multiple stab wounds. Another juvenile was taken into custody and charged with murder, but police have not disclosed the child’s age, identity or relationship to Katheryn.
Officials have also said little about the location beyond placing it in Piedmont’s Asberry church area, a rural section outside the center of town. Police have not said where inside or outside the residence the girl was found, what evidence led investigators to file a murder charge so quickly, or whether anyone else was present at the time of the attack. Johnson has described the investigation as active and ongoing, and the department has repeatedly said no further detail can be released because of the ages of those involved. That silence has left the case defined by a few grim facts: a late-night emergency call, a 10-year-old child found badly hurt, a hospital pronouncement, and a juvenile suspect facing the most serious criminal accusation available in the state’s criminal code.
As more information emerged, community institutions began filling in the picture of who Katheryn was. Piedmont Elementary School said she was a student there and remembered her as a child who brought “smiles, kindness, and a bright light” to the halls each day. The school said she had a joyful, spunky personality and was an enthusiastic reader. That portrait quickly spread through town and across local news coverage, turning the case from a crime bulletin into a community loss. In a city where residents often describe daily life as quiet and familiar, the killing landed with unusual force. People who said they did not know the family personally still spoke in public about heartbreak, grief and the sense that a line had been crossed in a place long seen as safe.
The procedural path ahead is likely to remain slower and less public than in an adult homicide case. Because the accused is a juvenile, court records, hearings and personal details may be sealed or disclosed only in limited ways. Police have not announced a court date, and no prosecutor has publicly outlined whether the case will remain in juvenile court or whether any effort could be made later to seek adult treatment, a step that would depend on facts not yet released. Investigators still have not described a motive, the sequence of events inside the home, or whether forensic testing and interviews are complete. For now, the next official milestones are expected to come through law enforcement updates, coroner findings and any court action that can be publicly disclosed.
Even with so many unknowns, the emotional weight of the case is visible across Piedmont. Johnson called it heartbreaking for everyone involved and for the whole community. Residents echoed that view as churches, school officials and neighbors tried to steady a town already worn by recent losses. Adrian Fitten, a Piedmont resident, said he could not imagine what the family was going through. Jerry Stewart of the Piedmont Ministerial Association said the city had already absorbed other tragedies and now faced another painful blow. That combination of grief and uncertainty has defined the public mood: mourning for a child, sympathy for a family, and a growing need for a fuller account of how a missing-person call ended with a murder charge against another juvenile.
The case stood Tuesday with a juvenile charged, the victim identified, and the cause of death publicly confirmed as stabbing. Police have said the investigation remains open, and the next public development is expected when authorities release additional case or court information.
Author note: Last updated April 21, 2026.