WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT A son who shot his mum dead believing she was possessed by a demon and lived with her body for 24 hours has received a life sentence of at least 25 years
A killer who murdered his own mum after claiming she was possessed by evil spirits has been jailed for life after spending an entire day living alongside her corpse. Ronald Joseph Kirk, 38, will serve at least 25 years behind bars for the cold-blooded execution of 61-year-old Rosa Leyva, who was found draped in pillowcases at the home they shared.
The drug addict learned his fate at Clackamas County Court in Oregon on Tuesday after being found guilty of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Kirk intends to appeal the conviction.
Tensions erupted during the sentencing hearing as the killer’s two sons confronted him directly from the gallery.
Taking the stand, Andre Leyva offered a surprising message to his dad, saying: “I forgive you. I love you because that’s what God does, and I hope prison and God have mercy on your soul.”
His older brother Antonio refused to follow suit, telling the court: “I know others have already forgiven you, but I am very far from that. And my Grandma Leyva, I don’t just miss her; it’s more than that.”
Rosa’s devastated sister, Michelle Guzman, delivered an emotional impact statement detailing the family’s trauma: “These past two years have been the hardest years of our lives.
“Having to grieve and deal with the loss of our sister – a daughter, a grandmother, a friend – has broken, shattered, changed and impacted our lives forever.”
The trial laid bare how Kirk became dangerously fixated on exorcisms and dark entities amid heavy drug and alcohol binges.
Terrified by years of angry meltdowns and erratic behaviour, Rosa had desperately tried to intervene.
Video footage recorded only weeks before the killing captured her pleading: “You’re higher than a kite. Get some help, please.”
After repeatedly reaching out to police for protection, the grandmother finally tried to kick Kirk out of the property on November 7, 2024, texting him: “You need to leave. I don’t want anyone in my own house.”
Tragedy struck on November 25 when Kirk crept up behind Rosa as she sat at her laptop sipping wine, shooting her through the head with a single bullet. It remains unconfirmed whether he had taken drugs at the time of the fatal attack.
A month before the murder, Kirk had foreshadowed the slaughter in a voice message left for his son, claiming Rosa was “possessed” and admitting he had “almost” put a bullet through her head the previous day.
Following the shooting, Kirk lingered in the property with the remains before Rosa’s absence at her clinic job sparked concern the next morning.
When police knocked on the door to carry out a welfare check, Kirk answered without hesitation and casually informed the officers his mother had been dead inside “for about a day”.
Inside, officers discovered Rosa’s body slumped over in a chair by the dining room table. Prosecutor Rusty Amos told the jury: “He sat there with his mother’s dead body for a full day.”