June 11, 2025
Portland, OR- Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Marshall today sentenced Darian McWoods to ten years of prison pursuant to a plea deal that resolved a child homicide investigation that started in December of 2013.
Prosecution in this case first began in December 2016, when Mr. McWoods was indicted on charges related to the death of his daughter, Kamaya Flores, who was fifteen months old at the time. The charges included two counts of murder by abuse, three counts of manslaughter in the first degree, and one count each of criminally negligent homicide, criminal mistreatment in the first degree, and tampering with a witness.
The child died on December 17, 2013, while in the care of her father, Mr. McWoods. An autopsy was performed by the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, which determined that her death was caused by methadone toxicity. A trace amount of methamphetamine was also detected in the child’s blood. The autopsy revealed physical findings as well, including unilateral broken ribs with a laceration of the liver, facial bruising, and facial petechial hemorrhages. Mr. McWoods was first tried in this case in 2018, where the state’s expert witnesses testified that his daughter’s’ physical injuries were consistent with inflicted child abuse and compression asphyxia. Mr. McWoods was convicted of all charges on June 5, 2018. The jury was unanimous in convicting Mr. McWoods on all of the homicide allegations and charges associated with Kamaya’s injuries. On July 13, 2022, the Court of Appeals reversed the convictions and remanded the entire case back to the Multnomah County Circuit Court for retrial.
On May 28, 2025, Mr. McWoods pled guilty to one count each of Manslaughter in the First Degree and Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree. As to the manslaughter charge, Mr. McWoods admitted that he recklessly, by neglect or maltreatment, caused the death of Flores, who was a child under the age of 14. As to the criminal mistreatment charge, Mr. McWoods admitted that he had assumed the care, custody and responsibility for Flores on December 17, 2013, and on that date intentionally and knowingly withheld necessary and adequate physical care and medical attention from Flores.
The original prosecutors on the case were Multnomah County Chief Deputy District Attorney Amanda Nadell and former Senior Multnomah County DDA Amity Girt. Multnomah County Senior DDA Charles Mickley, alongside Ms. Nadell, has been on the case since it was remanded back for a new trial. DDA Jesse Hoffman also assisted with the prosecution following the remand.
After the sentencing, Chief DDA Nadell said: “In her short life, Kamaya brought so much light and love to her family. Since her death, her family has remained steadfast in their commitment to ensuring justice was brought for Kamaya. I am grateful that Mr. McWoods took accountability for his role in Kamaya’s death, by pleading guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree and Criminal Mistreatment in the First Degree. I hope that the finality of this resolution will provide closure to the victim’s family.”
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office would like to thank current Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office investigator Nathan Tobey for his excellent work on this case. He was a Portland Police detective assigned to the Child Abuse Team when the crime was committed back in 2013. He also worked on the case as a DA investigator after it was remanded.
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