In a significant development, Oregon prosecutors have unveiled the indictment of Jesse Lee Calhoun, a suspected serial killer, in relation to three murders in the Portland vicinity.
This announcement comes just ahead of Calhoun's impending release from prison on unrelated charges.
Calhoun, 39, a former convict who was granted early release from prison in 2021, is now charged with the murder of at least three women. Authorities also suspect his involvement in at least two additional deaths. Calhoun's arrest last year was triggered by the alarming frequency of women found dead within a 100-mile radius of the city. He now faces charges of three counts of second-degree murder and three counts of abuse of a corpse, following an extensive investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies across two states and the FBI.
Calhoun, a career criminal, has been identified as a person of interest in five murders in the Portland area that occurred between February and May. The victims, Joanna Speaks, 32, Kristin Smith, 22, Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leann Webster, 31, and Ashley Real, 22, were all discovered in wooded areas in Washington or Oregon.
On Friday, Multnomah County prosecutors announced an indictment in the deaths of Perry, Webster, and Speaks. Perry, who was homeless and last known to be living in a tent in Vancouver, Washington, was found dead in a culvert at Ainsworth State Park, 35 miles east of her last known location. Speaks' remains were discovered near an abandoned barn in Ridgefield, Washington, about 23 miles north of Portland. According to the Clark County Sheriff's Office, there were indications that her body had been moved to this location. She had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and neck. Webster's remains were found in Polk County; she was originally from Milwaukie, Oregon.
The investigations into the deaths of Real and Smith are ongoing. Real was last seen at a fast-food restaurant in Portland, and her remains were found in Eagle Creek, about 25 miles southeast of Portland. Smith, who disappeared on December 22, 2022, was found dead in the woods in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood on February 19.
Calhoun's criminal history includes convictions for car theft, burglary, and resisting arrest. In 2021, then-Governor Kate Brown commuted his 2018 sentence on drug and weapons charges as part of a program offering leniency to prisoners who volunteered to fight wildfires. This was not his first release from prison; he had previously served about two years for an assault conviction between 2009 and 2011.
Despite the recent indictment, Calhoun has been in custody since last year after Governor Tina Kotek, Brown's successor, revoked his clemency. He was nearing the end of his original sentence when authorities announced the new case against him. Calhoun is expected to be transferred from the Snake River Correctional Institution to the Multnomah County jail in anticipation of his arraignment.
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