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.
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, [quote] "I hope you rot in hell. … Do you lie in bed at night thinking about what you did to that little girl?" [end quote]
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.
