Share and Follow
Left inset: Courtney Clinton (City of Vancouver, Wash.). Right inset: Dariel Nunez-Montero (Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The vehicle that Courtney Clinton was found dead in after being allegedly murdered inside of it by Dariel Nunez-Montero in front of her 1-year-old son (City of Vancouver, Wash.).
A man accused of a brutal murder in front of a child is being extradited from Kentucky to Washington state. Prosecutors allege he committed a “random and violent” act, taking the life of a mother while her 1-year-old son was present.
Dariel Nunez-Montero, aged 32, is charged with the murder of Courtney Clinton. Authorities claim he fatally slit her throat inside a Ford Edge SUV, while her baby was still in the vehicle. This heinous crime occurred in the city of Vancouver, Washington, in 2024.
According to a city press release, “Courtney was discovered deceased in her vehicle… in the 300 block of Blandford Dr.” The statement also noted that Clinton’s infant son was found unharmed in the car alongside her. More details can be found in the city of Vancouver’s official announcement.
A representative from the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s office informed the local CBS affiliate KOIN that Nunez-Montero has been detained in Kentucky for unrelated charges. Now that those proceedings are wrapping up, he is slated for extradition to Washington to face the murder charges.
The arrest warrant for Nunez-Montero was issued in April 2025 on charges of first-degree murder. Vancouver detectives traveled to Montgomery County, Kentucky, where he was being held, to formally serve him with the warrant. More information about the arrest can be found in the city of Vancouver’s announcement.
Nunez-Montero is expected to be back in Washington within the next few weeks.
Court documents obtained by The Columbian newspaper and local ABC affiliate KATU allege that Nunez-Montero’s DNA was found inside the Ford Edge containing Clinton’s body and her crying baby. The vehicle was discovered on Nov. 1, 2024, by a man passing by who initially thought Clinton “had been shot in the back of the head” due to there being “a lot of blood,” according to the documents.
The man called 911 and cops arrived to find slash wounds on Clinton’s neck, which led to her death and were caused by an edged weapon, the documents say. A GoFundMe launched by Clinton’s sister confirmed that her 1-year-old nephew was “still present in the vehicle” when police arrived at the scene.
Nunez-Montero’s DNA was allegedly found on the front passenger door of the SUV. DNA was also found underneath Clinton’s fingernails, but prosecutors have not said whether it belonged to him.
A doorbell camera allegedly captured Nunez-Montero on video leaving his apartment at 3:31 a.m. on Oct. 29, 2024, with a woman resembling Clinton while carrying a baby carrier. Police say the pair can be seen walking toward the parking lot of Nunez-Montero’s apartment complex; he was captured returning to his apartment at 6:29 a.m. without Clinton, according to the court documents.
“Courtney’s whereabouts directly after this time are unknown until her discovery on (Nov. 1),” the documents state, per The Columbian.
Police investigators say Clinton sent her location to a friend at 3:38 a.m., which showed she was at the Walnut Grove Apartments, 4701 N.E. 72nd Ave., where Nunez-Montero allegedly lived. A friend of Clinton’s allegedly told investigators that she was “known to meet men through social media” and she often posted on escort websites.
According to police, the car that Clinton was found in was registered to Enterprise car rental. She was behind on payments, so Enterprise tried calling her on Oct. 30, 2024, and someone who was not Clinton allegedly answered and claimed they found her phone.
The last time Clinton was seen in person was three days before her body was discovered — on Oct. 29, 2024, according to police.
The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Wednesday.