Man pleads not guilty to alleged 2008 Sky Valley murder

A former Cathedral City man extradited from Central America to face a murder charge in Riverside County stemming from the 2008 stabbing death of a woman in Sky Valley entered a not guilty plea on Tuesday morning.

Edward Lee LeBlanc, 38, is accused of killing Kristin Miner, a 44-year- old Thousand Palms resident. Following his capture late last month in Cuyotenango, Guatemala, LeBlanc was extradited to the United States and held in Miami prior to his arrival in Riverside County.

LeBlanc was arraigned at the Larson Justice Center in Indio on a murder charge filed in 2008, along with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. A warrant was issued for his arrest in August of that year.

LeBlanc allegedly stabbed Miner in the stomach following an argument.

According to court documents, a woman told police that on the night of Feb. 12, 2008, Miner, LeBlanc and another woman arrived at her house. Miner told the homeowner that she needed to move some vehicles onto the woman’s property for a short time. The woman agreed, despite having past issues with LeBlanc, who she
alleged held a gun to her daughter’s head in a past incident, according to a declaration in support of an arrest warrant.

Miner was stabbed outside the house the following morning. The woman did not witness the stabbing, but saw Miner walking around, bent over at the waist, holding bloody towels to her midsection, according to the declaration.

LeBlanc said he would take Miner to a hospital and drove away in her van, which was later found shot up and abandoned in the desert, with a bloody towel nearby, according to the document. Authorities allege LeBlanc drove Miner 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 2008.

According to court documents, several people told sheriff’s investigators that LeBlanc bragged to them about killing Miner in the months following her death. Federal authorities said a tip about LeBlanc’s whereabouts was received by the FBI, leading to his arrest by FBI agents and officers of 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.

LeBlanc is next due in court Jan. 20 for a felony settlement conference.