Dariel Nunez-Montero, 32, is set to be extradited from Kentucky to Washington state to face first-degree murder charges in the death of Courtney Clinton. Prosecutors allege he slashed her throat inside a Ford Edge SUV in Vancouver while her 1-year-old son was present. The child was unharmed when police found the scene.
Courtney Clinton was found dead on November 1, 2024, in the 300 block of Blandford Dr. in Vancouver, Washington, inside a blood-soaked Ford Edge SUV registered to Enterprise car rental. A passerby called 911 after spotting what appeared to be a gunshot wound but was later identified as slash wounds to her neck from an edged weapon. Her 1-year-old son was in the vehicle, crying but unharmed, according to a city press release and a GoFundMe by her sister confirming the child was still present when police arrived. Clinton had been behind on rental payments, and Enterprise called the phone linked to the vehicle on October 30, 2024; someone other than her answered, claiming to have found the phone, police said. The last time Clinton was seen alive was three days earlier, on October 29, 2024. A probable cause affidavit details that at 3:31 a.m. that day, a doorbell camera at Walnut Grove Apartments, 4701 N.E. 72nd Ave.—where Nunez-Montero lived—captured him leaving with a woman resembling Clinton and carrying a baby carrier. He returned alone at 6:29 a.m. Clinton shared her location with a friend at 3:38 a.m., pinpointing the apartment complex. A friend told investigators she met men via social media and posted on escort websites. Nunez-Montero's DNA was found on the SUV's front passenger door; additional DNA appeared under Clinton's fingernails. An arrest warrant for first-degree murder was issued in April 2025. Vancouver detectives served it on Nunez-Montero, then in custody in Montgomery County, Kentucky, on unrelated charges. He is expected to return to Washington soon after his Kentucky case concludes, a Clark County spokesperson confirmed to Law&Crime. Prosecutors described the alleged attack as a 'random and violent' murder.
