Inset: Rosa Leyva. Background: Ronald Kirk in an Oregon courtroom for his sentencing (KGW/YouTube).
An Oregon man is headed to prison after killing his mother and spending “a full day” sitting with her corpse at their dining room table. When police found them, a glass of wine and a laptop were reportedly in front of the mom and pillowcases were draped on top of her.
Ronald Kirk, 38, was sentenced to life in prison this week for the murder of his 61-year-old mother, Rosa Leyva, in November 2024. Leyva’s niece spoke at the sentencing and told Kirk, “I hope you are one day forced to confront the reality of what you have done,” according to local CBS affiliate KOIN.
The judge who sentenced Kirk gave him no possibility of parole for at least 25 years. He was also ordered to pay $5,000 for funeral expenses.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
A Clackamas County jury found Kirk guilty in October. Testimony during his trial described him as “volatile, dangerous and frequently drunk or high on meth,” according to KOIN. Prosecutors said Kirk shot Leyva in the head after she told him in a text message, “You need to leave,” and told him she was evicting him.
“I don’t want anyone in my house,” Leyva told Kirk.
In the weeks leading up to her murder, Leyva allegedly told a close friend that Kirk thought she was possessed by a demon. He was allegedly “obsessed with exorcism and demonic possession” while under the influence of drugs, according to the friend.
Evidence at Kirk’s trial included a voicemail Kirk left for his son, explaining how he thought Leyva was possessed and admitting he almost shot her in the head the day before she was killed, according to prosecutors.
Leyva was caught on home surveillance video telling Kirk, “You’re higher than a kite. Get some help. Please,” just days before she was found dead on Nov. 26, 2024. Police were called to conduct a welfare check after Leyva’s co-workers became worried because she did not show up for work or answer their calls.
Investigators later determined that Kirk had killed Leyva and then “sat there with his mother’s dead body for a full day” before officers showed up to conduct the welfare check. Kirk reportedly answered the door for them and told the cops his mom was inside and had been unconscious for roughly a day.
“You have forfeited the privilege of being part of our lives,” Leyva’s niece told Kirk at his sentencing. “You are no longer someone we want contact with and there’s no place for you in our family’s future.”
The post Son spent a ‘full day’ relaxing with his mom’s corpse after killing her, sat with her body at dining table with glass of wine and pillowcases draped over her first appeared on Law & Crime.
