Roseville parents charged with murder, torture and child abuse in death of adopted 9-year-old son

Prosecutors have filed murder, torture and child abuse charges against a married Roseville couple in the death of their adopted 9-year-old son.

Kimberly Rachel Blakley and Cory Albert Blakley, both 37 years old, were scheduled to make their first appearance Friday afternoon for their arraignment in Placer Superior Court. But only the accused mother was ushered into the courtroom.

Judge Angus Saint-Evens said Cory Blakley refused to exit his jail cell to attend the arraignment hearing. Barry Zimmerman, a defense attorney based in Placer County, has been hired to represent the father and asked the judge to postpone his client’s arraignment until next week.

On Wednesday, investigators arrested the couple. The Blakleys were booked at the Placer County Jail, where they remain held without bail.

The Placer County District Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against the Blakleys, charging them each with felony charges of murder, torture and child abuse, along with six misdemeanor counts of child endangerment, according to the criminal complaint filed against the couple.

The child abuse charge against the Blakleys includes enhancements alleging the crime resulted in an injury to a child causing death. Prosecutors said the child abuse that led to the boy’s death occurred Feb. 2.

Prosecutors are alleging the parents’ abuse caused the boy to become comatose due to brain injury and to suffer paralysis, according to the criminal complaint.

Kimberly Blakley wore a jail inmate uniform and a dark-green protective vest Friday as she stood in the courtroom behind protective glass. She was overwhelmed with emotion throughout most of the four-minute hearing. The mother cried and shook her head as the judge read the criminal charges filed against her, before she sat down and bowed her head while continuing to cry for the remainder of the hearing.

The judge assigned the Placer County Public Defender’s Office to represent the Kimberly Blakley. Brad Whatcott, an attorney from the Public Defender’s Office, appeared in court on behalf of the mother and asked the judge to also postpone her arraignment. Saint-Evens postponed the arraignment for both defendants until next Friday afternoon.

The child listed as the victim in the murder, torture and child abuse charges is identified as 9-year-old “C.B.” in the filed complaint.

About 6 p.m. Feb. 2, officers and firefighters responded to medical aid call at the family’s home on New England Drive, just east of Sunrise Boulevard in Roseville, authorities said.

The officers found the 9-year-old boy unresponsive, said Lt. Chris Ciampa, a spokesman for the Roseville Police Department. Ciampa said the boy, “despite extensive efforts,” died Monday at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Roseville police detectives, in collaboration with the Placer County Children’s System of Care, have been investigating the boy’s death since last week.

The police spokesman said the boy’s cause of death had not been confirmed by the Placer County Coroner’s Office, which is standard protocol and may take weeks to disclose.

Ciampa also said the boy’s siblings were in protective custody as the homicide investigation continues.

The six misdemeanor child endangerment charges filed against the parents list a different child for each charge, including 13-year-old “C.B.,” 12-year-old “K.B.,” 11-year-old “B.B.,” 8-year-old “K.B.,” 7-year-old “M.B.” and 6-year-old “C.B.”

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire declined to say whether the children listed as victims in the child endangerment charges are the 9-year-old boy’s siblings. He did say those misdemeanor charges stem from separate alleged incidents of abuse.

Gire also declined to provide any specific details about the alleged child abuse that led to the boy’s death, and he said he could not provide any information on any previous involvement child protective services may have had with the Blakleys or their children.

“It’s always incredibly tragic when children are the victims of crime,” Gire told reporters after Friday’s court hearing. “No community is immune from terrible things happening. The important part is the response that occurs when it does happen.”