A Vancouver man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday for killing his roommate and burning the man’s remains in the summer of 2023.

Logan Melchert, 38, killed Khalid Al-Hassan and then burned the body in Cowlitz County. Melchert then took the body to his Hazel Dell house to try to further hide the crime.

Melchert will be sentenced Dec. 5 in Clark County Superior Court. The prosecution is asking that he be sentenced to 18 years in prison. Melchert is being held in the Clark County Jail without bail.

Court records state that in October 2023, an inmate overheard Melchert talking about the incident to others at the jail. That inmate then reported the information to detectives.

Melchert apparently described Al-Hassan as his brother-in-law. He told inmates he killed Al-Hassan be

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