According to court documents, Meshay Melendez’s boyfriend repeatedly blamed her for the domestic violence accusations brought against him in phone calls made from the Clark County Jail earlier this month and demanded she needed to “find out” how to have them dismissed.
Layla Stewart, 7, and Melendez’s two bodies were discovered Wednesday along a rural Washougal roadside embankment, according to police. They were unaccounted for since March 12.
Kirklan C. Warren, Melendez’s boyfriend of 27 years, may or may not be charged in connection with the deaths, according to the authorities. Prior to his release from custody on March 8, Warren was identified by police as a person of interest in the disappearances. According to the police, Warren is thought to be the last person to have contact with Melendez and her daughter.
The dead’ discovery has caused Vancouver police to launch a homicide inquiry into the missing person’s case.
The bodies must be positively identified by a medical examiner, who is anticipated to arrive early next week, according to the authorities.
On a number of accusations against him, a judge in Clark County Superior Court on Tuesday set Warren’s bail at $1 million; he is due back in court on April 21.
According to court documents, authorities believed Warren posed a serious threat to Melendez.
He was detained on March 2 after being charged with opening fire in December on Melendez’s residence in Vancouver’s Minnehaha district. He was accused of two counts of fourth-degree assault, two counts of gross misdemeanor harassment with bodily injury, drive-by shooting, and second-degree assault with a deadly weapon.
He was told not to speak to Melendez at a court appearance the next day. Warren entered a not-guilty plea, paid the $10,000 bail, and was freed from custody on March 8 despite state prosecutors’ requests for an ankle monitor.
According to a probable cause document, he called Melendez from a jail phone while in custody.
Here is a tweet the bodies found of the missing daughter and her mother:
Bodies of Missing 7-year-old and Mother Found Near Rural Embankment: Police https://t.co/FkC9gGzzDY via @crimeonlinenews
— Nancy Grace (@NancyGrace) March 23, 2023
The Investigation of Jail Calls Made by Murder Suspect in Missing Person Case
The jail calls didn’t seem to be examined by detectives until after Melendez vanished.
In a probable cause affidavit, a Vancouver police sergeant stated, “I became concerned by the nature of the defendant’s conversations with the victim… (Warren) continuously blames (Melendez) for his incarceration, and suggests she isn’t working hard enough in contacting lawyers, prosecutors, and defence attorneys.”
According to the affidavit, Melendez allegedly responded, “Just tell me what to do” during the phone calls. “Brah, I don’t know, it’s all on you,” Warren retorted. Do you intend to get this expletive removed?
According to the complaint, Warren reprimanded Melendez for providing images of threatening text messages he reportedly made to her before opening fire on her apartment complex.
According to the affidavit, Warren said in one of the calls, “Now my life is done.” “I’m not returning to Arkansas in any capacity at all.” In Arkansas, Warren is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 57-year-old Curtis Urquhart, who was shot in the head and discovered in a ditch on December 11, 2017.
Melendez’s mother filed a missing person’s report on March 18, which was ten days after Warren was let out of prison.
A friend of Melendez reported that Melendez, her daughter, and Warren had visited her home in the 7800 block of Northeast Loowit Loop on Saturday, March 11, when she found that Melendez was missing. At some point throughout the evening, according to the affidavit, Warren departed the friend’s house, which is about a half-mile from Melendez’s apartment.
According to the affidavit, Melendez informed her buddy she was “going out to make some money” when she left the house at about 5 a.m. on March 12.
According to the acquaintance, Warren returned to the house at 8 a.m. in a Dodge Charger that was “blasting music.” Melendez was “passed out” in the passenger seat and naked below the waist when the companion yelled at him to turn down the music.
Layla Melendez’s daughter was taken out by Warren, who then put her in the vehicle and drove off, according to a friend.
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Arkansas Court Revokes Suspect’s Release And Issues Warrant For Arrest In 2017 Homicide Case
A court in Arkansas revoked Warren’s release on March 17, and a fugitive warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with the 2017 homicide.
When Melendez’s mother discovered that no one had spoken to or seen her daughter or granddaughter in a week, she filed a missing person’s report over the weekend. On Sunday, she discovered Melendez’s car close to the friend’s residence on Loowit Loop; police confiscated it as evidence.
At about noon on Sunday, detectives executed a search warrant at Warren and his wife’s residence in the 3700 block of Northeast 109th Avenue. Police claimed that he was taken into custody “without incident”.
Based on calls Warren made to Melendez from jail earlier in the month, he was accused of interfering with a witness and breaking the no-contact rule.
In addition, they reportedly found a gun, impounded his car, and collected a DNA sample. Warren had two phones, which they discovered. According to the affidavit, Melendez owned one of them.
Vancouver police issued a public call for assistance in finding Melendez and her kid by 11 p.m. on Sunday.
On Wednesday, a passerby on Washougal’s private, dead-end Southeast Woodings Road called the police after spotting what seemed to be “two life-sized mannequins” in the underbrush at the base of a steep hill adjacent to the raging Gibbons Creek.
On Thursday, the road was covered in a tribute of candles, balloons, and flowers that were wet by the rain.
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