Khalid Al-Hassan

Khalid Al-Hassan was a 38-year-old Black man who lived in Hazel Dell, Washington. He shared a home on Northwest Overlook Drive with his partner, Lindsey Melchert, and her brother, Logan Melchert. In the summer of 2023, Al-Hassan’s life was cut short in a crime that his killer went to great lengths to conceal.

Concern for Al-Hassan’s welfare grew after his family and friends lost contact with him around July 24, 2023. His mother became so worried after two weeks of silence that she traveled from New Jersey to Washington to find him. On August 8, she officially reported her son missing. The search led authorities to the home Al-Hassan shared with the Melchert siblings. On August 21, a Clark County deputy performing a welfare check at the residence encountered a disturbing scene. He saw a burned Kia Soul in the driveway, smelled an odor of "rotting meat," and observed Logan Melchert walking toward the car with a shovel.

Melchert was arrested at the scene on unrelated outstanding warrants. A subsequent search of the property and the burned-out car revealed decomposing human remains hidden under a tarp in the back seat. Investigators soon uncovered a wider plot. On July 26, a fire had been reported at a rural property in Cowlitz County owned by the Melchert family estate. Detectives searched that property on August 31 and found more human remains in the fire pit. A forensic anthropologist confirmed the remains from both locations belonged to the same person. Using dental records, the victim was positively identified as Khalid Al-Hassan.

The investigation pointed to Logan Melchert, then 35, as the sole suspect. A search of his internet history revealed searches for terms like "skeletonization," "how long does it take for a body to decompose," and "best respirator combo for decaying human corpse." Court documents indicated that investigators believed the motive was connected to a family inheritance. Melchert was initially booked on August 26, 2023, for second-degree arson and unlawful disposal of human remains. On October 9, 2023, the charges were upgraded to include second-degree murder.

On November 5, 2025, Logan Melchert pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Clark County Superior Court. He admitted to killing his roommate, Khalid Al-Hassan, and then attempting to dispose of his body by burning the remains first in Cowlitz County and later at their shared home in Hazel Dell. The case was closed with his plea in November 2025.