Candi J. Royer gets life in prison for Staunton toddler's slaying
STAUNTON — It was Jan. 12, 2021, when Amanda Mullen, who was being held at Middle River Regional Jail on a probation violation, called Candi J. Royer, an Augusta County woman who was caring for Mullen's child while she was jailed.
In the background, Mullen heard the voice of her 3-year-old daughter, Khaleesi Cuthriell.
"Mommy?" the toddler said in a jail call that was played in Augusta County Circuit Court on Thursday during Royer's sentencing hearing for first-degree murder.
"Baby?" Mullen answered.
After asking Khaleesi if she was being good, Mullen sweetly said to her daughter, "I love you. I can't wait to see you. Mommy misses you."
"I love you, Mommy," Khaleesi said.
It would be the last time Mullen would ever hear her child's voice.
Later that same day, Royer filmed herself abusing the toddler. The video — played for the jury at the August trial of Travis Brown, Royer's co-defendant — showed a frightened, confused and weakened child being verbally berated by Royer and forced to stand naked in a dry bathtub amid her own feces.
"Khaleesi, stand up," Royer ordered on the video. "I said stand up, Khaleesi."
Missing most of her hair by this time and covered in cuts and bruises, the toddler stood shaking during the entire ordeal.
Augusta County Commonwealth's Attorney Tim Martin said Khaleesi was possibly killed that day in 2021, but said there's no doubt she died before the month ended.
The next month when Mullen again called Royer, she lied and told Mullen that Khaleesi was at a birthday party before discussing receiving a payment for supposedly caring for the toddler, who was most likely already dead at that point.
Last week in a rambling statement during his sentencing hearing, Brown blamed Royer, his ex-girlfriend, for the slaying. Martin noted that Royer blamed Brown. "It's both of them," the prosecutor said Thursday.
Royer, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in September, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison by Circuit Judge Shannon Sherrill. Last week, Brown was given an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole on a charge of aggravated murder. An additional 20 years was tacked on for a charge of child abuse.
Following a crime spree in the summer of 2021 that Martin said included the couple stealing a vehicle and a $60,000 boat, Brown and Royer fled to South Greensburg, Pennsylvania, where police eventually captured them at a motel. That same month, the Augusta County Sheriff's Office said Khaleesi was dead. Her body was never found.
Authorities searched the couple's home on Cattle Scales Road in Augusta County near Waynesboro, where investigators found bloodstains on a wall that contained Khaleesi's DNA. One of the bloodstains was six feet off the floor. Police located a wire hanger with a handle made of tape that contained both Royer's DNA and the toddler's, evidence showed. Khaleesi's door to her bedroom was also found to have a lock on the outside.
The toddler was placed in the care of Royer, 44, and Brown, 32, in October 2020 after Mullen's incarceration.
"Travis is always posting pictures of new automobiles or motorcycles as the newest addition to our family, but I would like to introduce the newest addition to our family… khaleesi [sic]" a Facebook post by Royer said Nov. 8, 2020.
A Facebook friend asked who the child belonged to, prompting Royer to respond, "At the moment mine. Until her parents are able to care for her we will."
Mullen initially sought to give Khaleesi to a relative, but earlier testimony revealed Child Protective Services, a division of Shenandoah Valley Social Services, wouldn't allow the move. Mullen instead opted for Royer, and a CPS employee took the toddler to her home even though Royer, who struggled with substance abuse, was on home electronic monitoring while serving a criminal conviction during the pandemic. CPS was unaware that Brown, a convicted felon with a lengthy rap sheet, also lived at the residence. No official from CPS ever returned to check on the toddler, testimony showed.
Eleven months after being dropped off at the home, Khaleesi was reported missing by the Augusta County Sheriff's Office.
Under questioning following his arrest, Brown initially lied and said the toddler was still alive, claiming she was taken away in January 2021 by a CPS official using a state car.
He made several nonsensical assertions as well. Brown told investigators the child "liked to be smacked" and acted like she was "possessed." Brown claimed he woke up one night to find Khaleesi choking his daughter he shared with Royer. He also said the toddler was suicidal and prone to falling.
Eventually, Brown admitted the toddler was dead and claimed she killed herself by purposefully slamming her head into a doorframe. "It's what she did, man," he said in a recording with investigators. Brown told them he attempted CPR on the toddler but was unsuccessful. "I tried so hard, dude."
A drug addict at the time, Brown said he then passed out. After waking, Brown told investigators he left Khaleesi on the floor until the next day, when he said he wrapped her in a blanket and put her body in a garbage can.
Evidence at Brown's trial showed the toddler was abused for several weeks before her disappearance. An expert on child abuse testified Khaleesi was tortured.
Investigators seized some 46,000 photos and numerous videos, which showed Khaleesi's physical condition growing progressively worse during her stay at the home. Evidence showed she had numerous cuts and bruising, a thinning frame, burns and discolored feet.
Given a chance to speak Thursday, Royer, who has six children, said she was sorry. Royer also claimed she didn't kill Khaleesi but admitted to having a role in her demise. "I loved Khaleesi and I failed her," she said.
Royer, who was represented by attorney Jessica Sherman-Stoltz, claimed she doesn't know where the toddler's body is. "If I could tell (Mullen) where Khaleesi was, I would," she said.
Following the hearing, Martin spoke to the media and said he was satisfied that both defendants were given life sentences. "To achieve justice in this case really would be nearly impossible. The court did the most that it possibly could, and for that reason I'm grateful," he said.
The prosecutor, though, took CPS to task. "CPS failed Khaleesi terribly, just terribly. CPS and the workers there are among many, many people who failed her terribly, and that's irrespective of the people who acted affirmatively to cause her death. So ... dropping a little girl off with someone who is serving an active jail sentence — who had a 29-time felon in the house in Travis Brown, and then never coming back — allowed this to happen."
Martin said there is no defending the agency. "What they did here was not alright, it wasn't close to alright, their reaction after it happened wasn't alright," he said. "Khaleesi would likely have lived had they been diligent. That's all very painful to even say."
As for ever finding the 3-year-old's body, Martin said, "There're two people who know. Each one of them says it's probably the other one who knows, but they know and they have chosen to keep this back. So, until we either get really lucky or they develop a conscience, which I don't see happening, we're not going to know."
Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Candi J. Royer gets life in prison for Staunton toddler's slaying
