News
The Chronicle - Centralia
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'Wonderful father' of 3 stabbed 48 times by 'furious' ex-girlfriend who was stalking him amid custody battle in Eastern Washington
A father of three was shot and stabbed 48 times in his home amid an ongoing custody battle with his ex-partner, Cynthia Khaleel, who is suspected of killing him and discarding her bloody clothes in the trash after his death. Deputies responded to 15113 Wilson Court in Mead just before 2 a.m. Saturday after 40-year-old Justin Daniel, the homeowner, called 911 to report Khaleel had come to the house in violation of a no-contact order he had in place against her. When law enforcement arrived, they found him dead in a pool of blood with 48 stab wounds and three gunshot wounds, the Spokane County Medical Examiner was recorded as ruling in court documents. Multiple kitchen knives were scattered at the top the stairs, blood smears lined the walls of the home and multiple windows were broken on the upper and lower level of the house. Daniel was awarded full custody of his and Khaleel's 3-year-old child in March, but witnesses close to the family said Khaleel was "furious" about the ruling and was stalking and harassing Daniel, court documents said. Daniel already had a protective order against his ex-partner that was solidified in December 2023 that ordered Kahleel to surrender her weapons, but Spokane County Superior Court Judge Breean Beggs lifted the weapons restrictions once Daniel was given custody of the child. Effective Thursday, Khaleel was to have the couple's daughter from 9 a.m. to Saturday at 6 p.m. Six years prior to Daniel's death, Khaleel was acquitted of killing her adoptive 5-year-old nephew, Gary Blanton III, in 2015. The boy died of a fractured skull that Khaleel blamed on the boy falling from a piece of furniture. She had gained custody of her nephew after her brother, Gary Blanton Jr., was slain in 2012 by a killer stalking registered sex offenders in Clallam County. Court records said Daniel's daughter was home at the time of his death and heard yelling, glass breaking, her father screaming and "loud bangs" coming from upstairs. She fled to a neighbor's home, hid in the bushes called her mother, and her mother called police, court records say. There is no indication his other children were home at the time. Khaleel appeared at her stepfather's home in Chattaroy early that morning covered in blood, indicating she had been stabbed. She took a shower, put on new clothes and her bloody clothes were thrown in the trash, court records say. As her stepfather attempted to take her to a local hospital, she told him she had taped other license plates over the plates registered to her sister. He removed the license plates and threw them in the backseat. When he dropped Khaleel off at the hospital, he called his attorney and police, court records say. A detective responded to his home, recovered the bloody clothes from the trash and seized the car the two drove to the hospital. Detectives photographed two injuries on Khaleel, court records said, with one laceration on her thumb and another on her rib. They advised her of her rights, and she declined to answer questions without an attorney present. Khaleel's current husband told police when he went to bed that night, his wife was home. When he woke up around 4 a.m., she wasn't there, court records say. Her two teenage sons also told police when they woke up the next morning they did not see their mother, either. Deputies wrote in a news release Wednesday that Khaleel is receiving treatment "at an undisclosed location." A GoFundMe was posted online Wednesday to raise money for Daniel's daughters. It states he was "a wonderful father who loved his girls more than anything" and fought to keep them safe. "(His life) was ultimately cut short," it says. "Justin was robbed... due to a heartless crime." ___ (c)2024 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Visit The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) at www.spokesman.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. |
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In loving memory of Harriet Rajala: 1937-2024 
Harriet Sinclair Rajala, of Chehalis, Washington, passed away on March 8, 2024, peacefully with family by her side. Harriet was born on Sept. 13, 1937, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and adopted by Thomas G. Sinclair and Margaret Loomis Sinclair. After graduating from Annie Wright School in Tacoma, Washington, she went on to Mount Holyoke college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and later to graduate school at University of Washington in Seattle. Harriet is survived by her husband, Alex Rajala; her children, Thomas Brown (Liliana), of Orangevale, California, Halie Brown, of Chehalis, Washington, Erik Brown (April), of Vancouver, Washington, and Anja Reynolds (David), of Shelton, Washington; grandchildren, Aris, Lily, Ivy and William; and her brother, Robert Sinclair of Bethesda, Maryland. She will definitely be remembered for her love of learning and many creative passions, which included watercolor painting, playing piano and cello, silversmithing, jewelry making and learning foreign languages. She was very involved in the local Evergreen Playhouse and was a regular on stage as well as behind the scenes for decades. Harriet also had a great love of learning for learning’s sake and was a great lover of books. This love of reading, as well as her love of the water, nature and animals, was most definitely passed on to her children, as well as her great sense of humor. She will be greatly, greatly missed but has left her family and friends with many wonderful memories, the warmth of her unconditional love and the beautiful sound of her laughter. There will be a celebration of life open house from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at Sticklin Funeral Chapel, 1437 S. Gold St., Centralia, Washington. Please drop by to share laughter, tears, stories and memories of this very special woman. |
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Washington to fund more non-armed vehicle pursuit technology for law enforcement
As restrictions on law enforcement pursuing criminals are set to take effect on June 6 after passing in the Legislature, the state is offering police agencies a second funding opportunity to buy equipment capable of pursuing suspects without the use of firearms. A request for proposal put out by the Washington State Department of Commerce, Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention/Community Safety Unit is intended for a law enforcement agency to purchase ”specific vehicle pursuit technology” such as global positioning system tracking equipment, automated license plate reading technology, aircrafts, and drones. Commerce says it will award multiple agencies a total of $1.4 million to purchase the equipment, with the dollar amount dependent on the number of officers in the department. The grant funding was included in the Legislature’s 2023 operating budget, which also appropriated $1.5 million for the first round of grants last year. The agency to receive the most funding was the Spokane Sheriff’s Office, which was given $204,600 for a thermal imaging camera for the Spokane Regional Air Support Unit, which owns and operates four helicopters used to engage in vehicle pursuits. Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs Executive Director Steve Strachan wrote in a statement to The Center Square that the association “appreciates funding for pursuit technology because pursuing suspects should not be the only option. But there is more to be done. While the legislature agreed to I-2113 they did not pass bipartisan supported legislation (SB 6200) to address fleeing suspects through other measures like tougher penalties, impounding vehicles, and increased use of technology. Law enforcement will continue to push for more of those tools and we hope the word gets out to criminals that the ‘get out of jail free’ days of driving away unchecked are over.” Created in 2020, the Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention/Community Safety Unit stated goal is a “better understanding and reducing firearm violence in communities across Washington.” The Q&A period for the RFP is April 16 – May 8. There is a pre-proposal conference on May 1 at 10:30 a.m. Proposals are due on May 28, with the first round of funding occurring between July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025. |
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Activators Classic seeing one new twist
It has been 34 years since the inaugural Chehalis Activators Classic, one of the top meets in the Lewis County area. Since then, most of the core of the track and field meet has remained intact. There will be one change to this year’s gathering at W.F. West High School. For the first time in the history of the Activators Classic, there will be sponsors for the two-day meet that kicks off on Friday that will help benefit the Chehalis Activators, a nonprofit organization. “Source of revenue, so why don’t we do it?” Co-race director Ryan Robertson said. The main avenue of the organization is to help fund the athletic programs for Chehalis Middle School. The sponsors are as Robertson put it, “A direct benefit for the middle school.” It will have the same local flavor amongst the competing teams. Black Hills, Centralia, Napavine, Onalaska, Pe Ell, Rainier, Rochester, Tumwater and Winlock all will gather at the high school track along with the host Bearcats. There are 24 teams scheduled to be in the field. Friday will be an invitational where all competitors for every team will be able to compete in events starting at 4 p.m. It is the hallmark of what makes the Activators Classic different from any other weekend track meet. “That really is our strength,” Robertson said. “We take care of them all; we want them to have an amazing experience.” On Saturday, it will be the top-18 athletes and relays in every event based on season best marks. Field events start at noon on Saturday and running will kick off an hour later. Live results will be available at athletic.net. “It has kind of felt like an area championships,” Robertson stated. “It is fun for our smaller schools to come up and compete with the bigger schools. It is a good Lewis County connection.” |
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Historic Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood closed until further notice following fire
This story is available courtesy of Portland Business Journal media partner KGW-TV.
Timberline Lodge is closed until further notice as officials assess damage from a fire that broke out in the attic of the historic lodge in Government Camp on Thursday night. The ski area will be closed on Friday.
At around 11:10 p.m., John Burton, the marketing director at Timberline Lodge, said the fire was out. He told KGW that he thinks embers from the main chimney caused the fire. Employees tried to put out…
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