Suspect in 2016 murder case extradited from Mexico

Nearly eight years after he allegedly murdered his girlfriend, Victor Melcher-Villalba, 45, was brought into Yamhill County custody this week after being extradited from Mexico.

Lilia Cosco-Ortiz, 37, from Vancouver, Washington, was found dead in a blueberry field between Lafayette and Dayton on Oct. 2, 2016. An autopsy revealed she died of homicidal violence, and Melcher-Villalba was named a person of interest.

Following a grand jury indictment on Jan. 19, 2017, a warrant was issued for his arrest, and investigators later received information Melcher-Villalba may have fled to Mexico.

The Yamhill County Special Investigations Unit worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and secured a federal arrest warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution on Melcher-Villalba,” the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on Wednesday.

Melcher-Villalba was taken into custody in Durango, Mexico, on July 11, 2022, on unrelated charges.

“The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit along with the District Attorney’s Office worked with the United States Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs to request Melcher-Villalba’s extradition from Mexico back to Yamhill County to face a murder charge,” the press release stated.

The defendant was transported by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents on Tuesday and appeared in Yamhill County court Wednesday to be arraigned on the murder charge indictment.

Ted Coran has been appointed by the court to represent Melcher-Villalba.

The District Attorney’s Office requested a no-bail hold be ordered by Judge Ladd Wiles. In response, Coran stated, “I think the court understands my standing position on this. I believe some amount of bail should be posted.”

Deputy District Attorney Sarah Vogel argued “the proof is evident and the presumption is strong that the defendant is guilty,” and there is authority for a no-bail hold under state law.

When Wiles noted there was only an indictment in court filings, Vogel presented the judge with an affidavit and declaration that was part of a certified extradition paperwork. After reviewing that, Wiles sided with the state.

“I do find the state has presented evidence to satisfy the statutory requirements for a no-bail hold,” Wiles said.

The second-degree murder charge Melcher-Villalba is facing is an unclassified felony with a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.

In the press release, Sheriff Sam Elliott thanked all the law enforcement partners involved in the case.

“The Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office and the Yamhill County District Attorney’s Office want to thank the United States Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their continued partnership, in securing Melcher-Villalba’s arrest and return to Yamhill County.”