Timeline: Jesse Calhoun’s criminal past and the details of his recent arrest
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Jesse Lee Calhoun, a 38-year-old Oregon man with an extensive criminal history, was recently identified as a person of interest in the suspicious deaths of four women whose bodies were found between the Portland and Salem areas during the winter and spring of 2023. Authorities did not say why Calhoun was ruled a person of interest and no charges have been filed against him in relation to the deaths at this time.
While the details of the investigation remain concealed, the well-documented events leading up to Monday’s announcement give some context to the still-developing story. KOIN 6 News has outlined these events in chronological order.
2003-2018: Calhoun's extensive criminal history
Oregon court records show that Calhoun’s criminal record dates back as early as 2003, when he was convicted of third-degree assault in Baker County. He would face dozens of additional criminal charges in Baker and Multnomah Counties between 2007 and 2019 for assault, harassment, drug possession, theft, kidnapping, traffic violations and other alleged crimes. However, many of these charges were dismissed or whittled down to lesser crimes during the legal process.
2019: Sentenced to prison
In 2019, Calhoun was found guilty of assaulting a public safety officer, interfering with a law enforcement animal, burglary and the unauthorized use of a vehicle. Calhoun was sentenced to four years and two months in prison and was not expected to be released until June 2022.
2021: Clemency and release
In July 2021, Calhoun was released from prison a year early when he became one of many prisoners to be granted clemency by then-Governor Kate Brown.
“[Clemency] is an opportunity, I think, to save lives and eventually save the world and we all have to engage with every fiber of our being in this work,” Brown told the Oregonian as she pardoned dozens of additional inmates on the eve of her final term.
Had this clemency not been granted, Calhoun would have been released no matter what in July 2022.
2023:
Missing women found dead under suspicious circumstances
February 19: Kristin Smith
- On Feb. 19, 22-year-old Gresham resident Kristin Smith was found dead in a wooded area of the Pleasant Valley neighborhood near the intersection of Deardorff Road and Flavel Street. Smith was reported missing three days before Christmas in December 2022 and would be the first of four women found dead in the region under similar, suspicious circumstances.
April 24: Charity Lynn Perry
- The body of 24-year-old Longview, Wash. resident Charity Perry was found near Ainsworth State Park in East Multnomah County on April 24. Perry’s body was found in a culvert on East Columbia River Highway and Northeast Tumalt Road. Perry was known to frequent downtown Portland around Washington Street and Southwest 4th Avenue.
April 30: Bridget Leann Ramsey Webster
- Bridget Leann Ramsey Webster, 31, of Milwaukie was found dead four days after Perry’s body was discovered. Webster’s body was found April 30 on Harmony Road near Mill Creek in northwest Polk County. Webster regularly visited Portland and Oregon City prior to her death.
May 7: Ashley Real
- A week after Webster’s body was found, authorities were led to the body of 22-year-old Ashley Real. A fisherman reported Real’s body to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office after finding her body in a heavily wooded area of Eagle Creek near Judd Road. While the four cases weren’t initially deemed to be related, authorities immediately ruled Real’s death as suspicious.
June 4:
Portland Police Bureau denounces online “rumors” that the cases are related
On June 1, The Oregonian sparked a frenzy of internet speculation with an article that highlighted six women who were found dead around the Portland area in less than 3 months. Responding to public concern that there may be an active serial killer in the area, the Portland Police Bureau issued a statement denouncing the speculation. (Four of the six women mentioned in the Oregonian article were Smith, Perry, Webster and Real.)
“The Portland Police Bureau has been hearing widespread questions and concerns about the death investigations of six women throughout the region, especially after widely distributed social media posts and news media articles appeared to suggest a connection between them,” PPB said in a statement. “These discussions have led to some anxiety and fear in our community, and we want to provide reassurance that the speculation is not supported by the facts available at this point.”
June 6: Calhoun back in jail
On June 6, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Calhoun at Milwaukie Bay Park. Deputies took Calhoun into custody while serving a warrant issued for his arrest out of Multnomah County for parole violation.
July 3: Kotek rescinds Calhoun’s clemency
On July 3, Governor Kotek revoked Calhoun’s commuted sentence at the request of the Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt. Records obtained by KOIN 6 News show that Schmidt recommended the reversal on June 30, 24 days after he was booked into the Multnomah County Jail.
“I am writing regarding Jesse Lee Calhoun's commutation on Multnomah County Cases 18-CR-61662 and 19-CR-27836 signed by former Governor Kate Brown on June 23, 2021," Schmidt's letter reads. “Since his release from custody pursuant to this commutation, Mr. Calhoun has been involved in criminal activity currently under investigation by Oregon law enforcement. In light of this, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and Multnomah County Department of Community Justice recommends Mr. Calhoun's commutation be revoked. It is our position that his release does not serve the interest of the State of Oregon, and that he should be returned to the Department of Corrections to serve the remainder of his sentence.”
July 6: Back to prison
Oregon Department of Corrections records show that Calhoun was transferred to the Snake River Correctional Institution near the Idaho border on July 6. With no charges filed against Calhoun in relation to the women’s deaths, his earliest release date remains June 9, 2024.
July 17: Calhoun ruled a person of interest in the four women’s deaths
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office refuted PPB’s previous claim that there was no evidence connecting the women’s deaths and announced on July 17 that Calhoun was a person of interest in the investigation.
“Investigators and prosecutors from multiple law enforcement agencies have been working collaboratively on numerous death investigations in Northwest Oregon, and they have determined that there are links between four cases: Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Real,” the DA’s office said.
The DA’s office declined to say what links may exist between the cases. The women’s causes of death also remain under investigation and remain undetermined by the Oregon State Medical Examiner.
On Tuesday, KOIN 6 obtained a letter from Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt who asked Gov. Kotek to revoke Jesse Calhoun's clemency from a 2019 conviction.
"Since his release from custody pursuant to this commutation, Mr. Calhoun has been involved in criminal activity currently under investigation by Oregon law enforcement,” Schmidt said. "It is our position that his release does not serve the interest of the state of Oregon."
Schmidt made this request on Friday, June 30th and Gov. Kotek signed the order the following Monday.
Stay with KOIN 6 as this story develops.