(NationRise.com) – Oregon authorities announced on May 21 that they indicted 39-year-old suspected serial killer Jesse Calhoun with multiple murders in Portland. The decision was made just weeks before the suspect was scheduled to be released from his prison term for other charges. Calhoun has been formally accused of killing three women and causing the death of at least two others.
Police identified Calhoun as a suspect in the murders in 2023 following an investigation that involved multiple law enforcement agencies — including the FBI — in numerous counties. Calhoun is currently facing three counts of abusing a dead body and three counts of murder.
Authorities said that the 39-year-old career criminal was the main suspect in five murders that happened in the city and nearby areas, with the first of these cases taking place in February and the last one in May of 2023. The victims were 22-year-old Ashley Real, 31-year-old Bridget Webster, 24-year-old Charity Perry, 22-year-old Kristin Smith, and 32-year-old Joanna Speaks. Police found each of the bodies in wooded areas in Oregon or Washington.
Speaks’ body was found in Ridgefield, Washington, in an abandoned barn 23 miles from Portland. Meanwhile, Perry’s corpse was found at the Ainsworth State Park in Vancouver, Washington, in a culvert 35 miles from Portland. Webster’s body was found in Portland’s Polk County.
Some journalists said that authorities believe Perry’s case was a complex one as her mother revealed that she was a homeless person and was living in Vancouver inside a tent for months. It remains unclear whether Calhoun killed her at the Ainsworth State Park or if he just moved her corpse to that location.
The Portland Police Bureau said in a statement that the cases of Smith and Real were still under investigation and asked anyone with information to communicate with Detective Jeff Pontius. However, the bureau revealed that Smith’s body was found in the Pleasant Valley’s woods, while Real’s corpse was found in Eagle Creek, which is 25 miles from Portland.
Copyright 2024, NationRise.com
