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Thank you @Summer_Breeze.Community honors missing Augusta County child
A group of community members plan to gather this weekend to honor her.
By Kayla Brooks
Published: Dec. 7, 2022 at 5:42 PM EST|
WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - An Augusta County girl who is presumed to be dead would have celebrated her fifth birthday on Monday, Dec. 5.
A group of community members plan to gather this weekend to honor her.
“When I first heard her story, I just felt like there were a lot of people who didn’t care about her. I just feel like god placed her in my heart, and then I felt like the least I could do was to try to get her story heard and advocate for her,” said Erin Landes, one person who tries to raise awareness for her story.
She said learning more about Khaleesi’s story will help other kids in the future.
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We weren't allowed to either. Even worse, they couldn't even show the jury a pic of her alive and smiling in life.First Khaleesi Cuthriell case headed to trial this month
One of the suspects in a three-year-old's death is slated to face an Augusta County jury later this month. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.First Khaleesi Cuthriell case headed to trial this month
One of the suspects in a three-year-old's death is slated to face an Augusta County jury later this month.
Travis Ryan Brown is one of two people accused of killing three-year-old Khaleesi Hope Cuthriell in early 2021. Brown and his co-defendant, Candi Jo Royer, had been caring for the child in their home outside of Waynesboro.
Brown appeared in court on Tuesday morning in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs, and pled not guilty to eight felonies. He is facing charges of felony homicide, aggravated murder, concealing a dead body, child abuse, child cruelty, and conspiracy to commit several of those crimes. If found guilty by the jury, he opted to have the judge choose his sentence.
Also on Tuesday, Judge Shannon Sherrill heard arguments in two motions relating to the case. In one, he ruled that four exchanges via text and social media messages between Brown and Royer were admissible as evidence. Brown's attorney, Dana Cormier, had argued that the communications amounted to hearsay.
In one, Royer wrote to Brown,
"I hope you rot in hell. … Do you lie in bed at night thinking about what you did to that little girl?"
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alex Meador told the court that at that time Khaleesi had been dead for months. Meador added that Royer would bring up these accusations when she was upset by Brown getting together with other women.
Judge Sherrill did not yet make a decision regarding the other motion, which had to do with limiting which prior bad acts could be presented to the jury. The trial is scheduled to begin on Friday, August 25th. Royer's trial is currently scheduled for October. The judge noted that witnesses and attendees would not be allowed to wear customized apparel with Khaleesi's name or photo, or carry banners.
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No offense intended but I wish that had had a trigger warning. I am shaking after reading it and can't even let myself think about what I just read. HORRID. Can't go there.Suspect in toddler's killing in Augusta County claimed child 'liked to be smacked'
Khaleesi Cuthriell, 3, was killed sometime in early January 2021, authorities believe. Her body was never recovered.www.newsleader.comSuspect in toddler's killing in Augusta County claimed child 'liked to be smacked'
When Khaleesi Cuthriell went to live with Travis Brown and Candi Jo Royer in October 2020, the toddler had thick hair, was in good health and her cheeks still carried hints of baby fat.
"She was so beautiful," said Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Martin during his opening statement Monday on the first day of Brown's murder trial.
But less than three months after moving in, evidence showed most of her pale body was already covered in bruises, scrapes and burns. Large swaths of hair were also missing from the 3-year-old. Video of Khaleesi taken Jan. 12, 2021, perhaps her last day alive, according to Martin, showed a frightened and confused child being verbally berated while made to stand naked in a dry bathtub in her own feces.
Brown, 31, and Royer, 43, both face murder charges in the toddler's killing. Her body has never been found.
About 30 witnesses are expected to be called for the week-long trial in Augusta County Circuit Court.
In 2020, Khaleesi's mother, Amanda Arey, was struggling with drug use. After violating her probation, she was headed back to jail and wanted to hand her daughter over to a family member. But Child Protective Services in Augusta County, a division of Shenandoah Valley Social Services, stepped in and blocked the move, testimony showed. Arey then opted for Royer, who has a young daughter with Brown who is slightly older than Khaleesi. The couple lived together on Cattle Scales Road in Augusta County.
Evidence showed that a police officer and a CPS employee took Khaleesi over to Royer and Brown's home just outside of Waynesboro in October 2020. At the time, Royer was on home electronic monitoring for an unspecified criminal offense. After the CPS employee left, she never went back to the residence on Cattle Scales Road, according to her testimony. Within weeks, Khaleesi was referring to Brown and Royer as "Mommy and Daddy," evidence showed.
While behind bars at Middle River Regional Jail, Arey testified Monday she spoke to Khaleesi about every two weeks by phone until contact became infrequent and then stopped altogether. "She was my whole world," Arey said. "My best friend."
Arey said she was given a number of excuses as to why she couldn't speak with Khaleesi when she contacted Brown and Royer, such as the pandemic or that Khaleesi was sick. But most times her calls went unanswered. Arey's relatives then provided Royer and Brown with a phone in a failed effort to facilitate further communications, according to testimony.
Arey said she wrote a letter to CPS in an effort to have them do a welfare check on Khaleesi, but said she never got a response from the government agency. "No one ever contacted me back," she testified.
In her last phone call from jail, which was played in court, Arey told Khaleesi, "I love you! I can't wait to see you. Mommy misses you."
By September 2021, Arey told a jail officer she'd lost contact with her child, and the Augusta County Sheriff's Office immediately started an investigation. That same month Brown and Royer were captured at a Knights Inn motel in South Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and Augusta County Sheriff Donald Smith announced Khaleesi was dead.
Martin said investigators, who served more than four dozen search warrants, combed through nearly 50,000 photos, videos and communications connected to Brown and Royer. In one video, Royer is filming the toddler when she's heard telling the somber child "nobody likes you, Khaleesi." In another video where Khaleesi is shown in the dry bathtub, her thin body covered in bruises while she stands in her own feces, Royer repeatedly screams at her. After Royer sent Brown the same video, hours later he responded, "What if our girl looked like that hahahahahah."
Photos showed Khaleesi had a battered and bloody face, and also injuries to her feet several weeks after arriving at the couple's home. In another photo, the toddler was shown slumped over a toilet.
Following his arrest in Pennsylvania, when asked if he knew where Khaleesi was, Brown told two Augusta County investigators that a CPS employee had picked her up in a state car, but said he didn't actually witness it. "It was such a relief," he said on the video that was played in court.
Brown made a number of outlandish claims during questioning, telling investigators the toddler "liked to be smacked" and that she acted like she was "possessed." Brown also claimed he woke up one night to grab a bite to eat from the kitchen when he spotted Khaleesi choking his daughter. He also claimed she was sexually aware, told investigators she rubbed her genitals, was prone to falling, and said the toddler was suicidal.
Monday was the first day of a scheduled five-day trial, and the defense has yet to call any witnesses. But during his opening remarks, defense attorney Dana Cormier made it clear who he feels killed Khaleesi.
"In October, Candi Royer will answer for what she has done," Cormier said, alluding to her scheduled trial.
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Imagine being on a jury and hearing this guy said a 3 year old was sexual, she killed herself, and MORE. He is done for imo. Disgusting example of what vermin is. And HER? Oh yes. Her too.Day 2 of Travis Ryan Brown trial in Augusta
Jurors are hearing from investigators and seeing interrogation room footage in the Travis Ryan Brown trial.Day 2 of Travis Ryan Brown trial in Augusta
Jurors are hearing from investigators and seeing interrogation room footage in the Travis Ryan Brown trial.
Tuesday, August 29, marks the second day of trial in Augusta Circuit Court. Brown and Candi Jo Royer are accused of abusing and murdering 3-year-old Khaleesi Cuthriell.
The two investigators had interrogated Brown in Pennsylvania after he was arrested there. The footage showed Brown claiming Khaleesi had killed herself and that he disposed of the body.
There was an outburst from Brown, who called one of the investigators a liar.
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More HORRIBLE details. That these two even went to trial is ridiculous, they had NO CHANCE IN HE77. I realize she hasn't been tried yet but this should tell her.‘It’s eating me alive”: jury hears from experts, investigators
A little girl from Waynesboro disappears and isn’t reported missing for months.‘It’s eating me alive”: jury hears from experts, investigators
Since September 2021, Khaleesi Cuthriell’s story has, slowly but surely, unfolded.
A little girl from Waynesboro disappears and isn’t reported missing for months. By the time she is reported missing, investigators learn she’s dead and likely has been for months.
Almost two years after the public learned her name, a man accused of abusing and killing her, Travis Brown, appeared for the second day of his jury trial on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Brown’s codefendant, Candi Royer, will face a jury in October.
Investigators have had to keep most details about Khaleesi and what happened to her very quiet.
When Brown was arrested in September 2021, he was interrogated by Trevor Rexrode, formerly with the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, and Michael Roane, who is still with ACSO.
Jurors watched about half of the Sept. 19, 2021 interrogation on Monday, Aug. 28 and the other half Tuesday morning. In that, Brown first told investigators that Khaleesi was alive.
Rexrode and Roane at some points pleaded with Brown to tell them where Khaleesi was.
“We cannot lose sight of a three-year-old baby girl,” Roane said.
However, after a while, he said Khaleesi died after she hit her head -- an injury sustained in one accident. He said he panicked and did not call for help.
Instead, he said he wrapped her in her blanket and put her in the trash. Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tim Martin said Friday, Aug. 25 during jury selection investigators have not been able to recover Khaleesi’s remains.
Major Brian Jenkins with ACSO spoke to that fact, saying investigators tested Brown’s trash can for blood, but nothing came back. Brown estimated Khaleesi died in January, and the test took place on Sept. 20.
Jenkins said it’s possible the trash can was switched out for a new one. He said the landfill where Khaleesi’s remains might have been dumped is bigger than 90,000 cubic yards, which would take about 46 months to fully process.
Just a day later, investigators with Virginia State Police and the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at Brown’s home on Cattle Scales Rd.
A handful of scientists testified Tuesday to speak about the findings from that search. Nicole Harold with the Virginia Department of Forensic Science said three dots of blood on the wall were found to belong to the biological child of Ted Cuthriell and Amanda Arey, who are Khaleesi’s parents.
Since Khaleesi’s remains have not been found and there’s no sample of DNA, Harold clarified the sample of Khaleesi’s DNA was formed by mixing Cuthriell’s and Arey’s.
Of those splatters, one was six feet off the floor. Harold said hair found in electrical tape wrapped around a bent wire hanger was also consistent with that same mix of DNA.
Royer’s DNA was also found on that hanger.
VSP’s Special Agent AJ Wouters explained another observation on Tuesday. He is one of the agents who went inside the home on Sept. 20. He said Khaleesi’s bedroom doorknob was backward, meaning the people inside the home would have been able to lock her inside rather than the other way around.
He had photos of other doorknobs in the home - that one was unique.
An expert on child abuse and torture from Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Robin Foster, spoke as well, explaining it’s not possible for a child to kill themselves in the way Brown had described Khaleesi’s death. Brown had said in 2021 that Khaleesi was prone to falling and would throw herself down multiple times a day. Foster said Khaleesi’s injuries were not likely a result of a fall.
MORE AT LINK.
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