A Hazel Dell man killed his roommate during a fight and went to gruesome lengths to dispose of the body, court records allege.
Logan M. Melchert, 35, told jailhouse informants that he shot, strangled and then incinerated his roommate because he erroneously believed the man stood to inherit the business owned by Melchert’s father, according to a probable cause affidavit filed last week in Clark County Superior Court.
Investigators recovered bones and ashen remains of 38-year-old Khalid Al-Hassan inside a burnt-out Kia Soul on Aug. 22 after he was reported missing by his mother, who had traveled from New Jersey to search for him weeks earlier, the document stated.
The car was parked at the house Al-Hassan shared with Melchert and Melchert’s sister on Northwest Overlook Drive in Hazel Dell, according to the affidavit. Al-Hassan’s online resume says he worked as a real estate investor for the siblings’ father, who died in May.
Melchert told other inmates he believed Al-Hassan was married to his sister and stood to take control over his late father’s assets if she died, according to the affidavit, but family members told The (Longview) Daily News that the two were not actually married.
The affidavit noted that Melchert told inmates that he was under the influence of methamphetamine and fentanyl at the time of the killing.
Melchert claimed to investigators that Al-Hassan had tried to borrow his car, leading to a fight, and that Al-Hassan killed himself afterward, the affidavit said.
Investigators determined Melchert’s story was contradicted by the forensic evidence, according to the affidavit.
Investigators believe Melchert set fire to the body on July 26 at a property in Longview, then moved the remains to Hazel Dell, were he set them on fire again Aug. 19, according to the affidavit.
Melchert made numerous incriminating online searches during that time, including for the phrase “can fire destroy strong odors” and “how long does it take for a body to decompose,” the court document stated.
He faces charges including second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains.
