Kirkland Warren, 28, listens during his change of plea hearing Thursday in Clark County Superior Court. Warren pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of his former girlfriend, 27-year-old Meshay Melendez, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, respectively. (Jessica Prokop/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
In an eleventh-hour decision, the man who fatally shot a Vancouver mother and her 7-year-old daughter and dumped their bodies along a rural road near Washougal pleaded guilty Thursday in their murders.
Kirkland Warren’s trial was scheduled to begin Monday in Clark County Superior Court. Instead, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of his former girlfriend, 27-year-old Meshay Melendez, and her 7-year-old daughter, Layla Stewart, respectively. The mother and daughter were killed between March 12 and 13, 2023. Warren also entered an Alford plea to first-degree child molestation — which allows a defendant to maintain his innocence but admit there’s enough evidence to convict him — for sexually assaulting Layla.
Aggravated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Warren will be sentenced Oct. 8.
Warren, 28, was previously facing two counts of first-degree aggravated murder, one count of first-degree rape of a child, two counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and a slew of domestic violence charges with Melendez as the listed victim. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Toby Krauel previously filed a motion to amend those charges, mostly to consolidate or reduce some of the lesser charges, court records show.
Krauel told The Columbian that the defense notified him Wednesday that Warren wanted to accept his plea offer, which was extended weeks ago.
He offered the plea deal not because the case would be difficult to prove at trial, Krauel said, but because it allows the family to have closure without going into the difficult details of the case in a multiweek trial.
“From our standpoint, he only has one life to live, and … he’s going to spend the rest of his life in prison,” Krauel said after Thursday’s hearing. “These charges adequately reflect the serious and horrendous nature of this offense.”
Melendez’s mother, Nichole Norris, through the National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation, declined to make a statement after the hearing.
Melendez’s mother reported the pair missing March 18, 2023, after she couldn’t reach them for their regular video chat session. Authorities found their bodies four days later in a rural area east of Washougal.
Krauel said Thursday that Warren has agreed to plead guilty as charged in the 2017 shooting of Curtis Urquhart in Arkansas. Warren will enter guilty pleas to first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse and be sentenced from Washington. The date has not yet been set. Arkansas has agreed not to seek the death penalty, court records show, and whatever sentence Warren receives in that case will run concurrent with his life sentence here.
March 2023
According to a document filed by Krauel in anticipation of a trial, Melendez and Layla went to Melendez’s friend’s home March 11, 2023. About 20 minutes later, Warren showed up, and he and Melendez began to argue.
Warren and Melendez left the friend’s home and returned throughout the night. Sometime before 6 a.m. March 12, 2023, Warren shot Melendez and left her body inside his Dodge Charger while he attended a house party. He then texted Melendez’s friend from her phone, stating he was on his way to pick up Layla. He arrived there shortly after 9:30 a.m., the document states.
The friend, upset by Warren’s loud music, reached inside the car to turn it down and found Melendez unresponsive in the front passenger’s seat, with clothing on top of her head. The friend said she thought Melendez was sleeping, and Warren shouted at her to close the car door, according to the prosecution.
Timeline in Meshay Melendez, Layla Stewart case
The following information comes from court records filed and appearances in Clark County Superior and District Courts and Jefferson County Circuit Court in Arkansas, as well as police news releases.
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.
Dec. 23, 2022: Melendez calls 911 to report Warren assaulted her. She also reports the shooting from 10 days prior.
Feb. 3, 2023: Law enforcement interviews a friend who was present during the shooting and corroborates Melendez’s account.
Feb. 17, 2023: Melendez meets with investigators and recants her earlier statement. She says she lied about the shooting and claims she and her friend have mental health and drug issues, to explain away their earlier statements. She wants assurances Warren won’t be arrested. Investigators deem this to be suspicious.
March 2, 2023: Vancouver police arrest Warren.
March 3, 2023:Warren makes a first appearance in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of second-degree domestic violence assault, drive-by shooting, making a false statement, harassment and possession of a stolen firearm, between the series of alleged incidents. Clark County prosecutors say a danger assessment found Warren poses an “extreme risk” to Melendez, with a score of 31 on a scale of 1 to 18. They also note the active homicide case in Arkansas. They ask Warren be held on $100,000 bail. Judge Suzan Clark grants the prosecution’s request, citing the nature of the allegations and the open Arkansas case. Clark also orders a domestic violence no-contact order with Melendez. Hours later, Warren violates the domestic violence no-contact order by calling Melendez twice from the Clark County Jail. He suggests she’s responsible for his arrest and needs to get his charges dropped. Melendez says she is trying to get the charges to go away. Warren says he’s not going back to Arkansas. Warren posts bail later that day. But he is cited in Clark County District Court for violating the domestic violence no-contact order with Melendez.
March 6, 2023: Warren appears in custody in District Court on the citation. Vancouver police Sgt. Deb Libbey, who authored the probable cause affidavit, asks the court to order Warren wear a GPS monitor if released and be subject to higher bail. Judge Kristen Parcher orders $10,000 bail and electronic monitoring, for domestic violence offenders who are released pending trial.
March 7, 2023: The District Court case is dismissed, and the allegations are later added to Warren’s Superior Court case. He is not fitted with a monitor before the case is dismissed.
March 8, 2023: Warren is released from the jail.
March 11, 2023: Melendez, Layla and Warren stay the night at a friend’s apartment in the VanMall neighborhood.
March 12, 2023: Melendez and Layla are last seen that morning with Warren, leaving in his burgundy Dodge Charger.
March 17, 2023: A judge in Arkansas revokes Warren’s bond in his 2018 murder case.
March 18, 2023: Melendez’s mother reports her and Layla missing after she can’t reach them for their regular video chat session, and friends express concern over being unable to contact them for a week. Vancouver police conduct a welfare check on Melendez and Layla at their Minnehaha area apartment. They are not there.
March 19, 2023: Melendez’s mother finds her daughter’s car, a Chrysler 200, in the 7800 block of Northeast Loowit Loop in the VanMall neighborhood. Vancouver police serve a search warrant for Warren’s vehicle and residence in the Kevanna Park neighborhood, and he is arrested. Vancouver police issue a missing persons bulletin to the public.
March 20, 2023: Warren appears in Superior Court on new allegations of tampering with a witness, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and a protection order violation. Clark County prosecutors ask that Warren be held without bail or that his bail increase from $100,000 to $500,000. Judge John Fairgrieve postpones the hearing a day and asks the prosecution for more information about the basis for the new allegations. He does not make a decision on bail. Warren remains in custody. The Arkansas judge’s order to revoke Warren’s bond is filed with Jefferson County, Ark., Circuit Court.
March 21, 2023: Warren appears in Superior Court on the new allegations. Fairgrieve finds probable cause. Clark County prosecutors ask Fairgrieve to order Warren be held without bail or increase his bail from $100,000 to $1 million and order he wear a GPS ankle device if released. Fairgrieve orders the $1 million bail and electronic monitoring. Vancouver police name Warren a person of interest in Melendez and Layla’s disappearances. Investigators also release descriptions of the involved vehicles.
March 22, 2023: Warren appears in Superior Court on a warrant for the Arkansas case. He admits he is the person wanted in Arkansas, but he refuses to waive extradition to be turned over to authorities there. Judge Robert Lewis orders Warren be held without bail on the warrant. Two bodies are discovered down an embankment in thick brush off Southeast Wooding Road near Sunset View Road east of Washougal. The Vancouver Police Department tentatively identifies them as Melendez and Layla.
March 26, 2023: About 300 people gather in Esther Short Park’s Propstra Square to honor Melendez and Layla. The vigil is hosted by the National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation and YWCA Clark County, in conjunction with the family.
March 31, 2023: The Vancouver Police Department announces Warren is facing two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Melendez and Layla. The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office also announces it had determined both Melendez and Layla died from gunshot wounds to the head.
April 12, 2023: Warren's wife, Monet Tyler-Warren, 26, is charged in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Oregon with first-degree aggravated theft, first-degree theft, aggravated identity theft and identity theft. She's accused of stealing money while working at a Portland credit union and transferring it to other accounts, including one in Melendez’s name.
April 19, 2023: More than 100 people attend a private memorial service at Evergreen Memorial Gardens for Melendez and Layla, followed by a procession to their gravesite.
Sept. 5: Days before Kirkland Warren’s trial was scheduled to begin in Clark County Superior Court, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated first-degree murder in the deaths of Melendez and Layla Stewart, respectively. Warren also entered an Alford plea to first-degree child molestation — which allows a defendant to maintain his innocence but admit there’s enough evidence to convict him — for sexually assaulting Layla.
The next day, Warren drove from his Vancouver apartment to a remote area near Washougal and dumped the mother and daughter’s bodies down an embankment, court records state. Two men walking a dog found them along Wooding Road and reported it to authorities.
Prosecutors say text messages recovered by investigators showed Warren texted a woman March 13 and 15, 2023, asking if she knew of secluded areas, like some woods, and a place to bury a gun. He also texted a friend March 18, 2023, stating, “I need to get rid of this stolo,” slang for a stolen car. Prosecutors say he was referencing the Charger where Melendez and Layla were killed.
Investigators found the mother and daughter’s blood inside the car, as well as shell casings, a large blue tarp and evidence that Warren had sexually assaulted Layla, court records state.
On March 15, 2023, Warren transferred $4,200 from Melendez’s account to his using her phone. And a number of other recovered text messages referenced Warren’s prior violence against Melendez, according to the prosecution.
Records from December 2017 show Warren searched via Google “how to get blood out of a car seat,” “how to beat murder,” “killing the only witness” and other ways to get away with murder. Local prosecutors say the circumstances of the Arkansas case are similar to the murders of Melendez and Layla.
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