VANCOUVER, Wash. — The family of Meshay Melendez and Layla Stewart has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Clark County, alleging that the county negligently put the mother and daughter in danger by allowing Melendez's ex-boyfriend Kirkland Warren to be released from jail. Warren murdered Melendez and Stewart while out on bail and was sentenced to life in prison last year.

Melendez, 27, and Stewart, 7, were reported missing on March 12, 2023, and their bodies were found 10 days later outside of Washougal. Warren, 29, had already been named as a person of interest and arrested on March 19; he was subsequently charged with the murders and pleaded guilty to both counts as well as first-degree child molestation.

The lawsuit alleges that Clark County Probation and Pre-Trial Serv

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