A Vancouver man was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison for the 2023 killing of his roommate and burning the man’s remains.

Logan Melchert, 38, pleaded guilty Nov. 5 in Clark County Superior Court to second-degree murder in the slaying of Khalid Al-Hassan. Melchert burned the body in Cowlitz County before moving the remains back to his Hazel Dell house to try to further hide the crime.

According to court records, Melchert told Clark County Jail inmates he killed Al-Hassan because when Melchert’s father died earlier that year, he left everything to Melchert’s sister. Melchert said his sister had recently been in poor health and if she died, everything would go to Al-Hassan.

Melchert reportedly referred to Al-Hassan as his brother-in-law, but a representative for Al-Hassan’s family pr

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