Jesse Lee Calhoun is seen in Multnomah County Circuit Court for his arraignment on Thursday in Portland, Ore. Calhoun entered not guilty pleas Thursday to all charges in the criminal case involving the second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leanne Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32.
Dave Killen / AP
A Portland man has been charged with the murder of a fourth woman in the metro area.
Jesse Lee Calhoun was indicted last year on second-degree murder charges for the deaths of 24-year-old Charity Lynn Perry, 31-year-old Bridget Leann Webster and 32-year-old Joanna Speaks. He also faces three charges of second-degree abuse of a corpse.
This new charge relates to the death of Kristin Smith, 22. Smith was reported missing in Gresham on Dec. 22, 2022. Nearly two months later, her body was found in a wooded area of Portland.
Melissa Smith speaks at a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, about her daughter, Kristin Smith. Smith was reported missing in late 2022 and later found dead. Prosecutors have charged Jesse Lee Calhoun, 40, with her death.
Michelle Wiley / OPB
“The announcement today of this indictment, it’s a very important and visible step on the path as we seek justice for these victims,” Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said at a press conference Tuesday.
In the months after Smith’s body was found, the other women were found in areas across the region. Speaks’ body was located in Ridgefield, Washington, on April 8, 2023; Perry’s body was found in the Columbia River Gorge on April 23, 2023; Webster’s remains were found in Polk County on April 30, 2023.
Calhoun previously pleaded not guilty to the three murders.
At the press conference, Smith’s family expressed relief that progress was being made in Kristin’s case.
“It’s been 445 days since the first indictment,” Melissa Smith said. “I’ve always stayed hopeful that I’d get justice for Kristin.
“I always told Kristin growing up ‘never give up,’” she added. “I never gave up, and I never will.”
Law enforcement officials have also been investigating Calhoun’s potential involvement in the death of another woman, Ashley Real. She was reported missing in April 2023, and her body was found in Clackamas County a month later.
As the women’s bodies were discovered, victims’ families and community members urged police to investigate the killings as connected cases. Portland police initially dismissed those concerns, saying they were not supported by facts at the time.
Prosecutors have continued to investigate Calhoun’s connection to the dead women since he was first indicted in May 2024.
“That is an extremely important case to us, it’s one that is currently under investigation,” Vasquez said, referring to Real’s death. That investigation is being done in partnership between the Multnomah County DA’s office and law enforcement officials in Clackamas County.
Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez announces on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, that Jesse Lee Calhoun has been charged in the death of 22-year-old Kristin Smith. Calhoun faces murder charges for the deaths of three other women.
Michelle Wiley / OPB
An attorney for Calhoun declined to comment on the new charge.
Calhoun previously served time in state prison for several charges, including assaulting a public safety officer and a police dog, burglary and unauthorized use of a vehicle. He was set to be released in the summer of 2022.
That sentence, as well as those of 40 other people, was commuted by then-Gov. Kate Brown for serving on a fire crew fighting the 2020 wildfires. The commutation resulted in Calhoun leaving prison about a year early.
If the sentence had not been commuted, he would likely still have been released before December 2022, when the first woman was reported missing.
Gov. Tina Kotek later reversed the commutation after a request from prosecutors, and Calhoun was returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. During that time, prosecutors built a case against him for the women’s deaths. He was arrested again on unrelated parole warrants in June 2023, and was again incarcerated. Calhoun is currently being held at the Multnomah County jail.
A trial is currently set for 2027.
