Found Deceased WA - Meshay Melendez, 27 & daughter, Layla Stewart, 8, Vancouver, 12 Mar 2023 *vehicle found Mar 19*

[Spartygirl]

I know they were found in Washoughal, but...Oh wow. I live in Kevanna Park. This explains the police cars going into the single-family homes area from my condos on 109th. Oh my god. My mind is blown.

I vividly recall waiting on Karmen and baby Layla over 5 years ago when she registered her car at the DOL I worked at. They both have the white hair birthmark. I didn't think it was the same child at first, from the photos, but I knew it was Karmen. Then I saw other photos here, and I realized it was the same baby I remember. Ugh. I am a little triggered, and a LOT angry

Are you local? You know my swamp well lol. Not Royal Oaks, IMO, it is more a private complex. They have pretty good security and cameras there. Kevanna park itself...
well it's a pass through, to get to the homeless camp behind the auto places. Daytime only kinda park, very, very small. Orchards Park is quite a ways from kevanna Park, IMO. But that damn creek affects the whole county. But she wasn't near Orchards Park.
i feel so sad and sick

I wonder if her car was left on 109th, we just had a "sweep" this week to tow all the stolen/dumped cars. But I saw the police going into the neighborhood behind Fairview Apartments this week, more than three.

You described the swampy areas off of the creek perfectly.

Welcome to WS and thank you for the "eyes" of the area for us !!
so sorry this hit close to home.
It is such a sad tragedy and horrific outcome for these 2 beautiful souls.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The discovery of their bodies in thick brush down a road embankment on Wednesday has raised questions about why someone facing a murder charge in another state would be released from custody after being arrested for a serious domestic violence offense.

Cymber Tadlock, the deputy prosecutor who handled Warren’s case in a 2017 killing in Jefferson County, Arkansas, said the Vancouver Police Department in Washington notified her on March 2 that they had arrested Warren for drive-by shooting and other charges, stemming from an incident in December. They also told her the next day that Warren had a court appearance and his bail was set at $100,000.

It wasn’t until March 14, after she had received official paperwork from Clark County, Washington, that she filed a motion to revoke Warren's bail in the 2017 murder case. In the meantime, he posted bail and was released from custody March 8 — four days before Melendez and her daughter vanished.

Had his Arkansas bail been revoked sooner, it’s possible Warren would have remained in custody as a fugitive pending his extradition to face trial in Arkansas. But Tadlock said the time it took to obtain an order revoking his bail was typical.

"I wish everything could happen more quickly," Tadlock told The Associated Press. "I wish his murder case could have been resolved by now. It’s had delay after delay, and now it’s had a tragedy."

Why was murder defendant free before killings of mom, daughter in Washington state?

The family of a mother and 7-year-old daughter killed in Washington state want to know why the woman’s ex-boyfriend was granted bail on a serious domestic violence charge while facing a murder trial in Arkansas.

www.q13fox.com

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 24, 2023

Deaths of mom and child raise questions over why ex-boyfriend was released after prior murder and abuse allegations

Meshay Melendez, 27, and her 7-year-old daughter were found dead in thick brush down an embankment near Washougal, Washington, on Wednesday. Melendez's ex-boyfriend, Kirkland Warren, was named a person of interest in their disappearance.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Melendez’s brother, Miguel Melendez, and stepdad, Kendrick Taylor, along with Stewart’s grandfather, told The Columbian newspaper of Vancouver that they couldn’t believe Warren had been released on bail after shooting at her apartment, especially considering his pending murder trial in Arkansas.

But except in cases of aggravated murder, Washington law presumes someone will be released from custody until they are tried and convicted. Courts can impose conditions — such as bail or electronic monitoring — to help ensure public safety and to keep defendants from fleeing.

Why ‘person of interest’ in mom, daughter deaths was free despite Arkansas case

Kirkland Warren was out on bail pending a long-delayed murder trial in Arkansas. But when he was arrested in southwestern Washington state early this month on charges that he assaulted his ex-girlf…

www.koin.com

Video:
Ex-boyfriend Kirkland Warren has been named a person of interest in the disappearance of Vancouver woman Meshay Melendez and her daughter. He's been arrested before.

Domestic violence expert says legal system doesn't understand the danger of these crimes

Ex-boyfriend Kirkland Warren has been named a person of interest in the disappearance of Vancouver woman Meshay Melendez and her daughter. He's been arrested before.

www.kgw.com

 

[Knox]

I'm still shaking my head over this. WA State needs to revise their statute- you can only deny bail for an aggravated murder charge? Even if they have an out of state murder charge? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A small memorial is seen Thursday afternoon along Wooding Road in Washougal. Authorities found two bodies, believed to be those of Meshay "Karmen" Melendez and her daughter, Layla Stewart, in a brushy area farther down the road Wednesday.

The Vancouver Police Department Major Crimes Unit is leading the investigation, with help from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office will confirm their identities and release their cause and manner of death next week.

While investigators assemble a potential case against Warren, an internal document from the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office details the office’s rationale for when it requests defendants be subject to electronic monitoring rules, made possible as a result of the 2019 domestic violence murder of Tiffany Hill.

Prosecutors did not initially request Warren be subject to electronic monitoring.

The document, which provides guidance to domestic violence prosecutors, states prosecutors will not request electronic monitoring if domestic violence victims are “not on board.” They would be unlikely to request it in a first appearance — when bail is set for a defendant — due to a lack of information in the early stages of the case, opting instead to argue for a higher bail amount.

“I would be nervous to say that just because the victim stated in the police report that they are fearful of the defendant that this is enough information to allow us to believe that they will actually use GPS monitoring — we all know how DV works,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor Lauren Boyd writes in the policy.

Questions over lack of GPS monitoring after bodies of Vancouver mom, daughter found

Many questions remain as the police investigation continues into the deaths of 27-year-old Meshay “Karmen” Melendez and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart.

www.columbian.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Dr. Katie Mathis is a doctor of clinical psychology and CEO of California Cognitive Behavioral Institute and a national domestic violence expert with 37 years in the field. After the disappearance and presumed deaths of Melendez and Stewart, she looked into Warren's background.

"The trouble is when we have a legal system with district attorneys and judges, they are horribly undertrained in domestic violence," she said. "They know laws, but they don't know a perpetrator. They don't know the characteristics of a perpetrator and they don't know what they do to a victim." bbm

National domestic violence expert discusses the case of Meshay Melendez

Vancouver Police named Kirkland Warren, Melendez' boyfriend, as a person of interest in the disappearance earlier this week.

www.kgw.com

 

[KooshBall]

Is this former judge the suspect's dad? If so, maybe he still had some clout and was able to get his son out on bail, and not monitored by gps, for the Arkansas murder.

Judicial panel accuses special judge of misconduct | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

A state judicial disciplinary panel on Tuesday announced misconduct charges against a Pine Bluff attorney accusing him of using his position as special circuit judge to regain possession of stolen property. The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, in a seven-page press release, accused...

www.arkansasonline.com

 

[9InchNails]

Is this former judge the suspect's dad? If so, maybe he still had some clout and was able to get his son out on bail, and not monitored by gps, for the Arkansas murder.

Judicial panel accuses special judge of misconduct | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

A state judicial disciplinary panel on Tuesday announced misconduct charges against a Pine Bluff attorney accusing him of using his position as special circuit judge to regain possession of stolen property. The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, in a seven-page press release, accused...

www.arkansasonline.com

Yes indeed

‘Person of interest’ in disappearance of Vancouver woman, girl charged in 2017 murder in Arkansas

From linked article : "Warren’s father, Donald E. Warren, was formerly an attorney and a judge in Jefferson County, Ark. He resigned from his role as a judge in August 2009 following allegations of misconduct."

 

[PommyMommy]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640055085693808641

 

[Knox]

Yes indeed

‘Person of interest’ in disappearance of Vancouver woman, girl charged in 2017 murder in Arkansas

From linked article : "Warren’s father, Donald E. Warren, was formerly an attorney and a judge in Jefferson County, Ark. He resigned from his role as a judge in August 2009 following allegations of misconduct."

Wow, very interesting ... but eight years out of his role as a judge is a long time to curry favor for his murdering son?

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 27, 2023

Hundreds Gather to Mourn, Honor Meshay Melendez and Daughter Layla - The Daily Chronicle

Slain mother and daughter Meshay "Karmen" Melendez and Layla Stewart will be remembered for being "so full of energy and life." No matter how bad of a day, they would wipe away a loved one's tears …

www.chronline.com

[...]

Standing side by side with Clark County Sheriff John Horch, Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori said there is nothing he can say "to bring these two beautiful people back." But he said he will do everything he can to make sure they are never forgotten.

[...]

Layla had "a spirit that people were naturally drawn to, with big hazel eyes, a smile that would light up a room and the cutest dimples," Wollstein said. "She was a fearless little lady ready to conquer the biggest rides at the carnival."

[...]

The following information comes from court records filed in Clark County Superior and District Courts and Jefferson County Circuit Court in Arkansas, as well as police news releases. None of the allegations or charges have been proven in a court of law; all cases are pending.

— Nov. 27, 2017: Kirkland C. Warren shoots his passenger, Curtis Urquhart, with a 22-caliber handgun, after Urquhart repeatedly asks for money, and dumps his body in a ditch near Stuttgart, Ark. Warren later admits to shooting Urquhart, but he tells investigators he feared for his life.

— Dec. 12, 2017: Warren is arrested in Arkansas in connection with the November homicide.

— Dec. 13, 2017: Warren posts $250,000 bond in the homicide case and is released.

— Feb. 7, 2018: Criminal charges of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse are filed in the Arkansas case.

— 2020: Vancouver police investigate Warren for possessing a stolen semi-automatic handgun. Officers contact him, and he surrenders it. The firearm remains in evidence.

— March 31, 2021: Warren lies on an application to buy a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun at SafeFire in Camas. He says he is not under indictment for a felony, when he has the pending murder case in Arkansas. His application is denied.

— Dec. 13, 2022: Warren and Meshay Melendez argue at her Minnehaha area apartment. He subsequently leaves and shoots at Melendez's balcony window, as she looks outside.

[...]

(Timeline continues through March 2023)

 

[JMapes]

Police charge ex-boyfriend with murders of Vancouver mother, daughter

The bodies of Meshay Melendez and Layla Stewart were found March 22. The Clark County Medical Examiner concluded that they both died from bullet wounds to the head.

www.kgw.com

Really upsetting, sad, but expected news.

RIP Meshay and Layla.

 

[PommyMommy]

This is just so disturbing.

MAR 31, 2023

Man charged with murder in deaths of missing Vancouver mom, girl

The man named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

www.seattletimes.com

Detectives from the Vancouver Police Department booked Kirkland Warren for two counts of first-degree murder Friday after the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Meshay Melendez, 27, and her daughter, Layla Stewart, sustained gunshot wounds to their heads, according to a statement.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

News article finally broke the POI details, so I believe it is open for discussion now.

Meshay was dating Kirkland C Warren last year. On December 23 2022, Meshay called 911 to report that he had choked her, and that he had conducted a drive by shooting at her home on December 13th. He was pending trial for those attacks and she had a protective order against him - his bail was set at $100,000 and he was to be arraigned on March 10 2023. Despite these experiences, she was still sharing photos of the two of them together as recently as February of this year. He is also accused of first degree murder for a homicide which took place in December 2017 in Arkansas, which is still an open case. He was arrested on Monday (yesterday).

Vancouver man in court in alleged drive-by shooting

A Vancouver man who is accused of shooting at his girlfriend’s apartment in the Minnehaha area in December appeared Friday in Clark County Superior Court.

www.columbian.com

Kirkland Warren Mugshot | 12/12/17 Arkansas Arrest

Mug Shot for Kirkland Warren booked into the Jefferson county jail. Arrested on 12/12/17 for an alleged homicide .

arkansas.arrests.org

Man jailed on murder charge after victim's body found in ditch

A 22-year-old man is facing murder charges after a man was found dead in a ditch near Stuttgart.Arkansas State Police say KirklandWarren of Pine Bluff was arrested for first-degree murder and is being held at the Jefferson County Detention Center.State Po

katv.com

Vancouver man accused of violating no-contact order with woman who’s now missing

A Vancouver man is accused of violating a no-contact order with his girlfriend, among other allegations, in a December drive-by shooting case. Vancouver police say the woman and her 7-year-old daughte

www.columbian.com

I hadn't come across this detail in my social media scouring yesterday, but now that it's been released I feel pretty disheartened that this is almost certainly a recovery effort now. I don't have much hope to hold out that they are just in hiding, after reading that.

For current arrest information, search his name here: Jail Roster | Clark County

If the friends saw her like that, I wonder why it took so long to report her missing? Am I understanding that correctly, at least a week in between? TIA

 

[GoBuckeyes]

MAR 24, 2023

Deaths of mom and child raise questions over why ex-boyfriend was released after prior murder and abuse allegations

Meshay Melendez, 27, and her 7-year-old daughter were found dead in thick brush down an embankment near Washougal, Washington, on Wednesday. Melendez's ex-boyfriend, Kirkland Warren, was named a person of interest in their disappearance.

www.nbcnews.com

View attachment 411096

View attachment 411099

Such a precious picture. Precious lives senselessly ended. RIP.

 

[AislingGray18]

Hey everyone

Since I originally commented on this, I have backed off.

Meshay and Layla are actually my SO's younger cousins, and his daughter and Meshay were best friends. I had no idea when I first posted, how many people she is related to that I have known for 30 years.Out of respoet for them, I needed to calm down. And tio remember, even though I was a DV victim the same county, this is not about me.

This is a terrible tragedy, but I will say one thing: It could NOT have been prevented. The way our laws here work, the court and judge must give bail for the crimes he was charged with, and he paid that bail. In many ways, the county, the court and the judge told him "You failed in December. Get out of here and finish the job"

He did this because he wanted to. He could have ran like he ran from Arkansas, but he didn't. He could have left Layla alone, but he went back for her. We are hoping he pleads out to avoid trial and is sent back to Arkansas...where they actually use the death penalty

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Warren first used Google Maps between 6:30 and 6:32 p.m. March 13 to view and scroll around the area near Southeast 356th Avenue in Washougal, according to the affidavit. That spot was within a mile of the site where the bodies were found.

About 8:30 p.m. that night, the phone showed a search in Apple Maps for “SE Woodings Road.” Twenty minutes later, the phone saved a parking location at the exact coordinates where Melendez and Stewart were found, the affidavit said. Apple Maps prompts through CarPlay, which connects vehicles to a driver’s phone.

Less than 10 minutes later, an Apple Maps trip launched from that location to Warren’s address in the 3700 block of Northeast 109th Avenue in Vancouver, the affidavit said.

That’s where police ended up arresting Warren on March 19 at the home where he lived with his wife. Detective Dustin Goudschaal, who wrote the affidavit, noted that while Warren is married to someone else, investigators believe he was in an intimate, ongoing relationship with Melendez.

Cellphone tracked boyfriend to location where bodies of Meshay Melendez, daughter found, records say

Prosecutors say they will pursue first-degree aggravated murder charges against Kirkland C. Warren.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[Mary-Belle]

I don’t understand why she was with him that night… the friend said she saw her unconscious and undressed from the waist down… glad friend called police. But why was mama even with this guy that night if he was going to court for shooting at her house?

Not victim blaming… trying to understand events of that night.

 

[azure]

I don’t understand why she was with him that night… the friend said she saw her unconscious and undressed from the waist down… glad friend called police. But why was mama even with this guy that night if he was going to court for shooting at her house?

Not victim blaming… trying to understand events of that night.

It is often stated that it takes 7 attempts for a woman to leave an abusive relationship because of fear, shame, financial abuse/lack of financial resources, and many more factors.

DV Facts & Stats - RESPOND Inc.

Domestic violence is a public health issue impacting families and communities everyday. Below are some facts and statistics to help illustrate the scope of this serious issue. Two notes: the published studies cited below rely heavily on reports of violence. Because survivors face numerous...

www.respondinc.org