Oregon man high on meth shot his mother because he thought she was possessed
OREGON CITY, Ore. (TCN) — A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years for the fatal 2024 shooting of his mother.
KGW reportsfriends and family members of 61-year-old Rosa Leyva called the police to conduct a welfare check in November 2024 when they were unable to get in touch with her. Responding officers found her fatally shot in the head at the dining room table, covered in pillowcases.
Investigators learned her son, Ronald Kirk, had shot her the day before. According to prosecutors, Kirk had drug and alcohol addiction issues and had come to believe Leyva was possessed, KGW reports.
Kirk was convicted of second-degree murder on Oct. 20, per KGW. At trial, prosecutors said Leyva had contacted the police for help shortly before she was killed after asking Kirk to move out of their home. The district attorney’s office said Kirk was “volatile, dangerous, and frequently drunk or high on meth.”
Kirk was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years, according to the Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office.
KGW reports Leyva’s nephew, Tyler Leyva, said at sentencing, “My aunt was murdered by her own son. Someone I grew up with, someone who was once close to us, and someone I never imagined would be responsible for something so horrific.”
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