A Clackamas County jury convicted Ronald Joseph Kirk, 38, of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm this week in the death of his mother, 61-year-old Rosa Leyva. Kirk was living in Leyva’s small Gladstone home when she texted him on November 8, 2024, saying she wanted him out, and she had started the legal eviction process. On November 26, she didn’t come into work. Her coworkers became worried and requested a welfare check, and officers found her body at the dining room table, covered in pillowcases, with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Prosecutors said Leyva had expressed concerns about her son’s behavior, which they tied to alcohol and drug use. Kirk became fixated on exorcism and demonic possession, and he left his mother a voicemail claiming she was possessed and that he had “almost” put a bullet in her head the day before. He answered the door during the welfare check and told officers his mother had not been conscious for about a day.
Kirk is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4 and faces a potential life sentence with a minimum of 25 years in prison. The case touches on addiction, untreated mental illness, and how families and courts handle threats and erratic behavior before a tragedy. If someone you love is in crisis, don’t wait to reach out for support. What would you do if a family member’s behavior started to frighten you?
