A hunt for a missing Washington family has come to a sad end, when cops recovered two dead last Wednesday. On March 12, a 27-year-old lady, her daughter, and her ex-boyfriend were last seen. Police are currently holding the ex-boyfriend as a “person of interest.”
Meshay Melendez of Vancouver, Washington, together with her ex-partner Kirkland Warren and daughter Layla Stewart, age seven, allegedly spent the night of March 11 at a friend’s house.
The following morning at around six, Melendez, Stewart, and Warren were seen driving away from that residence in a burgundy Dodge Charger. Later that day, a friend of Melendez who had come by to pick up Stewart reported to the police that she had seen the woman in Warren’s car, “unresponsive and naked from the waist down.”
Melendez’s family notified Clark County police on March 18 that they had not heard from her since March 11. When police checked on her wellbeing, they discovered that her flat was empty with the exception of her dog.
A search started at that point. On March 19, Melendez’s mother discovered her car; that same day, police detained Warren on suspicion of possessing a handgun, domestic abuse, and tampering with evidence.
Missing Meshay Melendez and daughter found dead as search ends in tragedy https://t.co/QwW9Dfu4y4
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) March 23, 2023
On March 22, a caller reported sighting two “life-sized mannequins” near the base of a road embankment in Washougal, putting an end to the hunt. When police arrived on the scene, they discovered two bodies; “unique identifying genetic marks” allowed them to identify Melendez and Stewart as the victims. In the absence of a report from the Clark County Medical Examiner, the date and manner of death are currently unknown.
Warren has admitted to the murder but says he acted in self-defense; he is currently out on bond for a 2017 homicide in Stuttgart, Arkansas. He was detained in December of last year after allegedly firing at Melendez through her balcony window, but the charges were later dismissed after she claimed otherwise.
He has been detained multiple times before for gun-related and domestic violence-related offenses, and police claim he last saw Melendez and Stewart alive. It appears that a serial killer has been released to commit another murder.
