Kirkland Warren pleaded not guilty Monday to aggravated murder charges in connection with the fatal shootings of his former girlfriend, Meshay “Karmen” Melendez, and her daughter, Layla Stewart. In addition to the murder charges, Warren, 27, of Vancouver was arraigned in Clark County Superior Court on one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Judge Suzan Clark ordered Warren to remain held without bail after denying the defense’s request to set a bail amount. A readiness hearing is scheduled for June 2, with the trial starting June 12. The charges allege Warren killed Melendez, 27, and 7-year-old Layla between March 12 and March 15. The information cites aggravating factors: There was a court order prohibiting Warren from contacting Melendez, Melendez was a witness in a pending case against Warren, and Melendez and Layla’s deaths were part of a common scheme or plan. A private funeral is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The Vancouver mother and daughter were last seen the morning of March 12 with Warren, who had been barred by court order from having contact with Melendez in connection with an earlier domestic violence case, according to investigators. Melendez’s mother reported them missing March 18 after she couldn’t reach them for their regular video chat session. Authorities found their bodies March 22 in a rural area east of Washougal.

The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office determined both died from gunshot wounds to the head. Their deaths were ruled homicides, meaning they resulted from another person’s deliberate action. The rulings do not make any judgments about criminal culpability. According to Vancouver police, Layla was shot twice in the head, and Melendez was shot once in the left temple, both by a small caliber gun similar to a .22. Warren, whom police previously named as a person of interest in their disappearances, has been in the Clark County Jail since March 19, when he was re-arrested. He was originally accused of shooting at Melendez’s apartment in the Minnehaha area Dec. 13. At his initial first appearance March 3 in Superior Court, the prosecution said a danger assessment found Warren posed an “extreme risk” to Melendez, with a score of 31 on a scale of 1 to 18. He was charged in that case with drive-by shooting, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, gross misdemeanor harassment with bodily injury and two counts of fourth-degree assault, all charged as domestic violence crimes. He was also charged with making a false statement for allegedly lying on a gun application. He’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Additional charges of two counts of a protection order violation, one count of tampering with a witness and one count of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm were later added to the case. Warren is also facing charges of first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in Jefferson County, Ark., Circuit Court for allegedly shooting a man in the head and leaving his body in a ditch in November 2017, court records show. This story was updated with Kirkland’s trial date.