Man captured in Guatemala for Sky Valley murder returned to Riverside County

Arraignment is scheduled Wednesday for a former Cathedral City man extradited from Central America to face charges in Riverside County stemming from the 2008 murder of a woman in Sky Valley.

Edward Lee LeBlanc, 38, is accused of killing Kristin Miner, a 44-year- old Thousand Palms resident, in February 2008. Following his capture late last month in the Guatemalan city of Cuyotenango, LeBlanc was extradited to the United States and held in Miami prior to his arrival at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on Sunday.

LeBlanc, who is slated for arraignment Wednesday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio, was charged in 2008 with murder and a sentence enhancement for using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. A warrant was issued for his arrest that August.

LeBlanc allegedly stabbed Miner in the stomach on Feb. 14, 2008, following an argument. He then allegedly drove her to a remote area of the desert in Sky Valley, burned her body and buried it in a shallow grave. Her
remains were found in the desert north of Dillon Road in July of that year.

LeBlanc was also federally charged in 2013 with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The United States government is expected to dismiss the federal warrant charging LeBlanc, according to the FBI. Federal authorities say a tip about LeBlanc’s whereabouts was received by the FBI, leading to his arrest by FBI agents and officers with the Guatemala National Civil Police.

At the time of his capture, federal authorities were offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to his arrest.