The families of two of the four women believed to have been murdered by an Oregon serial killer have blasted how the police have dealt with the investigation and its slow progress.
Jesse Calhoun, who is being investigated and labeled a ‘person of interest’ in the deaths of four women, had previously attacked and choked one of them, her father claimed.
But Calhoun was not arrested until months after the alleged assault – only after the women’s murdered bodies were discovered scattered across northwest Oregon.
The corpses of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Ashley Real, 22, were found over a three-month period in wooded areas, under a bridge and in a culvert in a roughly 100-mile radius, spanning from rural Polk County southwest of Portland to the Columbia River Gorge, east of the city.
Melissa Smith, Kristin Smith’s mother, said in a video on Facebook that she reported her daughter missing in December to Gresham Police in a Portland suburb, but she said, ‘I was not given the help that I needed.’
Jesse Calhoun is a person of interest in the deaths of Bridget Webster, 31, Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Lynn Perry, 24; and Ashley Real, 22. He had been serving a 50-month sentence for assaulting a police officer, trying to strangle a police dog and burglary
Ashley Real’s body was the latest one found on May 7. Her father, Jose Real, on Friday said he called police on November 11 after she showed up crying at his Portland home, saying she had been choked by Calhoun.
She had marks on her throat, he said, and he took her to a hospital.
A Portland police officer took an initial report from Real and his daughter and she gave the officer Calhoun’s name. Police wanted her to help find him, but she was scared to help, he said.
Because the location of the alleged assault was outside Portland police jurisdiction, the department referred the case to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
Real said he never heard back from the sheriff’s office, even though he and his wife called repeatedly.
Details of the attack were first reported by the Oregonian.
‘The police didn’t do their work, and now my daughter is dead,’ he told the newspaper.
Kristin Smith, 22 (left), was the first victim: she was discovered on February 19. On April 24, the second, Charity Perry, 24 (right), was found dead
Bridget Webster, 31 (left), was found on April 30, and Ashley Real, 22 (right), on May 7
Melissa Smith also said that police were slow to act in her daughter’s case, after she was reported missing. Family members posted flyers about the missing woman and searched parts of Portland.
Kristin Smith’s body was the first of the four to be discovered in the woods outside a Portland neighborhood on February 19.
‘I was not given the help that I needed in searching for her and I have concerns for that,’ Smith explained in a 10-minute long video posted online.
‘After some of the girls went missing, that is when I started receiving phone calls and getting a new detective.’
Melissa Smith praised the new detective she had been assigned with the Portland Police Bureau for more aggressively pursuing the case.
‘I am hoping that we got him,’ she said of Calhoun’s arrest. ‘I want nothing more that justice. I know Kristen was murdered and I have faith that the police department are going to piece this together.
‘I don’t know if they are linked with the other girls. I am in contact with the families of a few of the other girls.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday that investigators and prosecutors from nine law enforcement agencies have found links between the four deaths, with at least one person of interest.
The statement did not name the person, but a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation named him as Jesse Lee Calhoun.
The official requested anonymity because they are not authorized to comment publicly on the case. Calhoun was arrested on June 6 by members of two sheriff’s departments with U.S. Marshals Service assisting, the official said.
Melissa Smith, Kristin Smith’s mother, said in a video on Facebook that she reported her daughter missing in December to Gresham Police in a Portland suburb but, ‘I was not given the help that I needed’
Jose Real, the father of Ashley Real, 22, said his daughter was choked by Calhoun months before she was found dead
Portland Police Sgt. Kevin Allen wrote in an email the department cannot comment on any reports or information related to Calhoun because of ‘an active ongoing criminal investigation.’
Sheriff’s Deputy John Plock also said he could not comment because of an active investigation.
Real said he was grateful his daughter was found and he can visit her remains in a Clackamas County cemetery.
‘I can tell her, `Daddy’s here, mija … you know how much I miss you,” Real said, using an affectionate Spanish term for daughter.
‘Maybe you don’t have a daughter, you don’t have a son now, but believe me, when somebody loses a daughter or son, so sad,’ Real said to KMTR.
‘I cannot protect her. I cannot be with her that day. I always want her to be cared for and I feel so sad because I miss that day, I miss that day,’ Real said.
Calhoun has a lengthy criminal record, with felony convictions dating back almost 20 years.
He was reportedly a talented artist, who told booking officials he earned his living painting designs on vehicles.
His first felony conviction was in 2004: when he was arrested again, in 2018, with meth, several guns, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office called him a ‘prolific thief and career criminal.’
In 2019 he was given four sentences, set to run concurrently.
Calhoun was released from the Columbia River Correctional Institution on July 22, 2021, almost one year before his projected release date
Kate Brown was governor of Oregon from 2015-23, and commuted Calhoun’s sentence in July 2021. She said she was ‘absolutely horrified’ by the news of his alleged crimes
Tina Kotek, who replaced Brown, was asked on July 3 to revoke Calhoun’s conditional commutation
But he was among the 1,000 inmates who benefitted from then Gov. Kate Brown reducing the prison population during the pandemic.
Calhoun was one of 41 prison inmates whose prison sentence was lowered by one year in 2021 by then-Governor Kate Brown after they helped battle devastating 2020 wildfires in Oregon.
Calhoun was released from the Columbia River Correctional Institution on July 22, 2021, almost one year before his projected release date, the Oregon Department of Corrections said on Friday.
He had been serving a 50-month sentence for assaulting a police officer, trying to strangle a police dog, burglary and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Senator Tim Knopp, leader of the minority Oregon Senate Republicans, blamed Brown for letting ‘violent offenders’ out early. But even if Brown hadn’t commuted Calhoun’s sentence, he would have been released months before the deaths occurred.
The district attorney’s announcement said no charges have been filed in connection with any of the deaths, but Calhoun is back behind bars.
Governor Tina Kotek revoked his commutation on July 3.
The 6-feet-4-inch suspect, who has a history of resisting arrest, jumped into the Willamette River in Milwaukie and tried to escape when found on July 6.
Brown, who left office in January, told Willamette Week she was shocked by Calhoun’s arrest.
‘I’m absolutely horrified for the victims, their families, and all those who have experienced this loss,’ she said.
Calhoun will now serve the remainder of his sentence, with his new projected release date June 9, 2024, Oregon Department of Corrections spokesperson Amber Campbell said.