Layla Stewart was a 7-year-old Black / African American girl from Vancouver, Washington, who was last seen alive with her mother, 27-year-old Meshay Melendez, on March 12, 2023. That morning they were in the company of Melendez’s ex-boyfriend, Kirkland Warren; an acquaintance later told investigators Melendez appeared passed out in the passenger seat. The acquaintance said Warren then placed Layla into his vehicle and drove away.

The family reported Melendez and Layla missing on March 18 after days without contact. On March 22 a passerby found two bodies down an embankment east of Washougal; investigators identified them as Melendez and Layla. The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office determined both died of gunshot wounds to the head; Layla sustained two gunshot wounds. Layla was found naked from the waist down, and DNA recovered from her body was matched to Warren, indicating sexual assault.

Court records show Warren had previously been barred from contacting Melendez in a prior domestic violence case, and he became the primary person of interest in the investigation. If anyone knew Meshay, Layla, their movements on March 12, or has information about Warren’s contacts with them, please share what is known.