April 17 – A 37-year-old woman once acquitted of murdering her 5-year-old nephew is in custody after police say she killed her ex-partner during their ongoing custody battle.
Detectives have probable cause to charge Cynthia Khaleel with first-degree murder, burglary and assault contrary to domestic violence and no-contact order, according to a news release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
Police responded just before 2 a.m. Saturday to 15113 Wilson Court in Mead after Justin Daniel, the homeowner, called 911 to report that Khaleel had come to the home in violation of their no-contact order.
Daniel’s teenage daughter was home at the time, officers said.
The couple was involved in a lengthy custody battle over their young daughter.
Daniel, 40, petitioned the court for a parenting plan in February 2023, when the couple’s daughter was two.
In November 2023, Daniel petitioned the court for an anti-harassment injunction against Khaleel, saying she kept their daughter from him for two months after he filed a parenting plan.
Daniel alleged that Khaleel used air tags to track him and took photos of his home, among other things.
Daniel also alleged that Khaleel was verbally abusive to his teenage daughter.
That protection order was issued in December and as a result, Khaleel was ordered to surrender her weapons.
On March 21, Spokane County Superior Court Judge Breean Beggs found Daniel’s account of events credible and awarded him primary custody.
Starting April 18, Khaleel would have the couple’s daughter from 9 a.m. Thursday morning to 6 p.m. Saturday
Beggs left the civil protection order in place, preventing Khaleel from contacting Daniel about anything other than their child, but said Khaleel did not have to surrender her weapons, according to court records.
When officers arrived at Mead’s home on Saturday, they reportedly found Daniel with an excessive number of stab wounds and several gunshot wounds. These injuries caused Daniel’s death, according to the Spokane County Medical Examiner.
The teen was not injured and fled when the incident began, officers said.
Just before 3 a.m., a local hospital told officers that Khaleel had been admitted with non-life-threatening stab wounds.
Khaleel was not listed as a patient at any local hospital as of Tuesday afternoon, but officers said she is being treated at an undisclosed location while in custody.
This is not Khaleel’s first involvement with the criminal justice system.
Khaleel was charged with manslaughter in 2015 after her five-year-old adoptive nephew, Gary Blanton III, died of a skull fracture.
She was given custody of her cousin after her brother, Gary Blanton Jr. was murdered in 2012 by a killer who stalked registered sex offenders in Clallam County.
Khaleel told investigators she heard a crash around 5 a.m. the day Gary was injured. She looked at the boy, who she said told her he had fallen while climbing onto his younger brother’s crib.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner said at the time that the “complex” fracture of the boy’s skull could not be explained by a short fall.
Khaleel testified at the trial and denied causing the injuries. A jury acquitted her in 2018.
Since then, Khaleel had a child with Daniel, which led to the custody battle.
Daniel’s adult daughter declined to comment on his death out of respect for the ongoing investigation. A GoFundMe was posted online on Wednesday to raise money for Daniel’s surviving daughters.
