Two indicted for murder in death of 3-year-old Khaleesi Cuthriell

Candi Royer, 41, and Travis Brown, 29, have been indicted for murder in the death of 3-year-old Khaleesi Cuthriell.

Augusta County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tim Martin announced the indictments at a press conference on Tuesday.

Investigators determined in September that Cuthriell died while in the care of Royer and Brown at an address in Augusta County where the two had been residing.

The Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the address, 249 Cattle Scales Road, with the assistance of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI.

According to investigators, Cuthriell, the daughter of Amanda Arey, an inmate at the Middle River Regional Jail, had been placed in the care of Royer in October 2020.

Arey reported this to a jail officer on Sept. 4, 2021, according to the sheriff’s office. She also said that she had been told by friends that Royer had placed her daughter in the care of the child’s aunt, who lives in Covington, or possibly in the care of her maternal grandmother.

Several friends and family of Royer also reported to investigators being told this by Royer, and that the child had not been seen with Royer since February 2021.

Brown and Royer were arrested in Pennsylvania on Sept. 12, 2021.

Royer had initially been filed as a missing person by the Sheriff’s Office, but is now suspected as being a willing participant with Brown in a crime spree across the Commonwealth of Virginia and into Pennsylvania.

One question remaining in the case has been whether or not authorities have located the child’s body.

Martin declined to answer a question on that at the press conference.

The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office is still requesting the public’s assistance in obtaining any information available on the whereabouts of Khaleesi Cuthriell. Citizens can contact the Sheriff’s Office at (540) 245-5333 or Central Shenandoah Crime Stoppers at 800-322-2017.