Roseville mother accused of murder of adopted 9-year-old son offers plea deal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Defense attorney proposes plea deal in murder case of 9-year-old Cyrus Blakley.
- Judge delays proceedings to Aug. 1 as prosecution reviews the plea offer.
- Mother remains in custody; father's 15-year sentence already underway in Wasco.
A defense attorney on Friday told a judge that he has offered prosecutors a potential plea deal for a Roseville mother accused of murder in the death of her adopted 9-year-old son.
Kimberly Rachel Blakley, 38, appeared briefly Friday morning for a hearing in Placer Superior Court. She faces charges of murder and torture in the February 2024 death of her adopted son, Cyrus Blakley.
Brad Whatcott, an attorney from the Public Defender’s Office representing the accused mother, told the judge that he has made an offer for a plea deal on behalf of his client. He said the Placer County District Attorney’s Office was reviewing the offer, so the attorneys need more time before moving forward with Blakley’s case.
Whatcott and the prosecutor in the courtroom did not discuss any details about the plea deal offer during the hearing.
The mother’s murder trial has not been scheduled. She remains in custody at the Placer County Jail pending the conclusion of her criminal case.
Judge Colleen Nichols scheduled Blakley and the attorneys to return to court Aug. 1 to determine whether a plea agreement has been reached or to schedule the start of Blakley’s trial.
Blakley and her husband, Cory Albert Blakley, had seven children — two biological children and five who were adopted. They all lived together in a home on New England Drive, just east of Sunrise Boulevard in Roseville.
About 6 p.m. Feb. 2, 2024, officers and firefighters responded to a medical aid call at the family’s home. The officers found the boy unresponsive. Cyrus died three days later at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
The incident that led to Cyrus’ death began shortly after 5 p.m. on the family’s living room couch, according to court records. Prosecutors have said Kimberly Blakley sat on the boy, spanking and suffocating him face down on the couch for about 40 minutes while he cried for help and gasped for air.
The mother was angry because Cyrus told others at school about a dead dog at their home, and she is heard on video saying Child Protective Services was going to come and take the children away because Cyrus didn’t care about the family, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors have argued in court that Cory Blakley stood in the kitchen and did nothing to stop his wife as he watched her brutally punish the boy.
In late February, Cory Blakley, 39, pleaded guilty to a charge of second-degree murder, along with an enhancement for committing the crime against a vulnerable victim.
The father also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of dissuading a witness and six misdemeanor counts of child endangerment. Last month, a judge sentenced Cory Blakley to 15 years to life in prison. As of Friday, he was serving his sentence at Wasco State Prison in Kern County.
