Additional Coverage:
- Oregon man accused of killing 3 women and dumping their bodies is indicted on fourth murder charge (nbcnews.com)
PORTLAND, Ore. — A man already accused of killing three women in the Portland area is now facing a fourth murder charge. Jesse Lee Calhoun was indicted Tuesday in the November 2022 death of 22-year-old Kristin Smith, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez announced.
The indictment adds charges of second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse to Calhoun’s existing case. He was previously indicted in the deaths of Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in the initial indictment.
Kristin Smith’s mother, Melissa Smith, expressed her relief at the news conference, stating, “I’ve always stayed hopeful that I would get justice for Kristin. I thank every single person who didn’t give up on this case.”
The bodies of Perry, Webster, and Smith were discovered in Oregon between early 2023 and November 2022, while Speaks’s remains were found in a barn in southwestern Washington. The grim discoveries, made in various locations including wooded areas, a culvert, and under a bridge within a 100-mile radius, had previously raised fears of a serial killer operating in the region.
Calhoun’s trial is expected in 2027. He remains in custody at Multnomah County’s Inverness Jail.
His attorney declined to comment. District Attorney Vasquez also noted that the death of another woman during the same time period remains under investigation.
Calhoun was initially arrested in June 2023 on unrelated parole violations. He was returned to prison to complete a previous sentence for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, burglary, and other charges. His early release in 2021, granted for his participation in a prison firefighting program during the 2020 wildfires, was revoked by Governor Tina Kotek in 2023 as the murder investigation progressed.