Police say a 2024 homicide case in Vancouver now rests on DNA, video and a long-awaited extradition from Kentucky.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — More than a year after Courtney Clinton was found dead in a Ford Edge with an unharmed infant in the vehicle, the man charged in the case has been brought back from Kentucky to face a first-degree murder case in Clark County.

That return turned a case that had lingered publicly for months into an active court matter. Vancouver police announced an arrest warrant in April 2025 after tracing leads to Kentucky, where Dariel Nunez-Montero was already jailed on unrelated charges. Clark County deputies completed the extradition on April 1, 2026, and local television footage from an April 2 hearing showed the case entering its next phase, with the accused appearing in court and the prosecution moving ahead.

The killing itself began the case in stark terms. Police said officers were sent to the 300 block of North Blandford Drive at about 4:25 a.m. on Nov. 1, 2024, after a passerby reported a woman slumped inside a bloodied vehicle. Courtney Valencia Clinton, 31, of Portland, was later identified by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office. Her infant child was found in the vehicle and was not hurt. A medical examiner ruling issued Nov. 7 listed Clinton’s cause of death as incised wounds of the neck and ruled the death a homicide. In the days that followed, Vancouver police publicly asked for help, saying Clinton had last been in contact with friends and family during the week of Oct. 28.

Investigators later laid out a fuller timeline in court records summarized by local media. According to a probable cause affidavit, Clinton sent a friend her location at about 3:38 a.m. on Oct. 29, showing her near the Walnut Grove Apartments on Northeast 72nd Avenue in Vancouver, where police said Nunez-Montero lived. Doorbell video from the complex allegedly showed him leaving at 3:31 a.m. with a woman resembling Clinton while carrying a baby carrier. Police said the same camera captured him returning at 6:29 a.m. without her. Authorities have said Clinton’s movements after that point were unknown until her body was found three days later. Police Chief staff described the attack in early reporting as “apparently random and violent,” a phrase that underscored how little detectives initially knew about motive or the precise path to the crime scene.

As the case developed, investigators pointed to a mix of forensic and digital evidence. The affidavit cited by Law&Crime said DNA linked Nunez-Montero to the Ford Edge, including evidence recovered from the front passenger side of the vehicle. KATU later reported that the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab found a DNA match on the passenger-side door handles. Police also found DNA under Clinton’s fingernails, though public reports reviewed so far have not said whether that material was matched to the defendant. Officers also noted missing items and signs of movement after Clinton disappeared. Her phone was not recovered at the scene. The Ford Edge was registered to Enterprise, and records cited in coverage said the company tried to contact Clinton on Oct. 30 over missed payments. Someone other than Clinton allegedly answered and said the phone had been found. Another detail in the affidavit placed Clinton’s debit card at a 7-Eleven on Northeast Vancouver Mall Drive shortly after she vanished.

The route to an arrest did not happen quickly. Vancouver police said their Major Crimes Unit kept working the case from Nov. 1, 2024, until a felony warrant was issued in Clark County Superior Court on April 11, 2025. By then, Nunez-Montero was already in custody in Montgomery County, Kentucky, on unrelated allegations. Detectives traveled there and served the murder warrant while he was jailed. Nearly a year later, on April 1, 2026, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said deputies completed his extradition to Washington and booked him into the Clark County Jail pending prosecution. At his April 2 court appearance, local TV coverage said the court granted more time because he needed a translator to follow the proceedings. That report said he was expected back in court on April 8.

The public picture of Clinton’s life remained narrower than the investigative file. Police and court records identified her as a Portland resident and a 31-year-old mother. Family and friends appeared first in news coverage through public appeals, fundraising and statements after the killing. The detail that drew the strongest reaction each time the case resurfaced was the infant’s presence in the SUV and the fact that the child was alive when officers arrived. Police later said the child was being cared for by family members. Even with an arrest and extradition completed, large parts of the case remain outside public view, including how Clinton and the accused first met, what happened in the hours between the apartment footage and the discovery of the SUV, and whether prosecutors intend to file charges beyond first-degree murder as the case moves deeper into superior court.

The case now stands in Clark County with Nunez-Montero in local custody and the homicide prosecution underway. The next public benchmark was an April 8 hearing date mentioned in court coverage, though no later public case update was readily available in the materials reviewed before April 9, 2026.

Author note: Last updated April 9, 2026.