The families of two of the four women believed to have been murdered by an Oregon serial killer have harshly criticized the way police have handled the investigation and how slow it is progressing.
Jesse Calhoun, who is under investigation and has been named a “person of interest” in the deaths of four women, previously assaulted and choked one of them, her father claimed.
But Calhoun wasn’t arrested until months after the alleged assault — only after the murdered bodies of the women were discovered scattered across northwest Oregon.
The bodies 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 within an approximately 100-mile radius stretching 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 to the Gresham Police Department in suburban Portland in December, but she said, “I wasn’t given the help I needed.”
Here are my thoughts on yesterday’s newscast. All news reporters are welcome to take this and share
Posted by Melissa Smith on Tuesday July 18, 2023
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 was serving a 50-month sentence for assaulting a police officer, strangling a police dog and committing a burglary
Ashley Real’s body was the last to be found on May 7th. Her father, Jose Real, said Friday he called the police on Nov. 11 after she showed up at his Portland home crying and saying she was choked by Calhoun.
She had scars on her neck, he said, and he took her to a hospital.
A Portland police officer took an initial report from Real and his daughter and gave the officer’s name Calhoun. Police wanted her to help find him, but were afraid to help, he said.
Because the location of the alleged assault was outside the Portland Police Department’s jurisdiction, the agency referred the case to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
Real said he never heard from the sheriff’s office, although he and his wife called repeatedly.
Details of the attack were first reported by the Oregonian.
“The police didn’t do their job 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 April 30 and Ashley Real, 22 (right), May 7
Melissa Smith also said police were slow to act on her daughter’s case after she was reported missing. Family members distributed leaflets about the missing woman and searched parts of Portland.
Kristin Smith’s body was the first of four bodies discovered on February 19 in the woods outside a Portland neighborhood.
“I was not given the help I needed to find her and I have concerns about that,” Smith said in a 10-minute video posted online.
“After some of the girls went missing, I got calls and got a new detective.”
Melissa Smith praised the new detective assigned to her at the Portland Police Bureau for pursuing the case more aggressively.
“I hope we got him,” she said of Calhoun’s arrest. “All I want is justice.” I know Kristen was murdered and I’m confident that the police will solve the matter.
“I don’t know if they are connected to the other girls.” I am in touch with the families of some other girls.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that investigators and prosecutors from nine law enforcement agencies have found links between the four deaths and at least one person of interest.
The statement didn’t identify the individual, but a police officer with knowledge of the investigation named him Jesse Lee Calhoun.
The officer asked for anonymity as he was not authorized to comment publicly on the case. Calhoun was arrested June 6 by members of two sheriff’s departments with the assistance of the US Marshals Service, the official said.
Melissa Smith, Kristin Smith’s mother, said in a video on Facebook that she reported her daughter missing to the Gresham Police Department in suburban Portland in December, but “I wasn’t given the help I needed.”
Jose Real, the father of Ashley Real, 22, said his daughter was suffocated by Calhoun months before she was found dead
Portland Police Sgt. Kevin Allen wrote in an email that due to “an ongoing criminal investigation,” the department could not comment on reports or information related to Calhoun.
Deputy Sheriff’s Deputy John Plock also said he could not comment due to the ongoing investigation.
Real said he was grateful his daughter was found and that he could view her remains at a Clackamas County cemetery.
“I can tell her, ‘Dad is 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 someone loses a daughter or son, it’s so sad,” Real told KMTR.
“I can’t protect her. I can’t be with her that day. “I always want them to be taken care of and I’m so sad because I miss that day, I miss that day,” Real said.
Calhoun has a long criminal record, with felony convictions dating back nearly 20 years.
He was reportedly a talented artist who told booking officials that he made a living painting designs on vehicles.
His first felony conviction came in 2004: When he was arrested again in 2018 with meth, multiple guns and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office described him as a “prolific thief and career criminal.”
In 2019, he was given four prison terms to be served concurrently.
Calhoun was released from Columbia River Correctional Institution on July 22, 2021, nearly a year ahead of his scheduled release date
Kate Brown served as Oregon governor from 2015 to 2023 and commuted Calhoun’s sentence in July 2021. She said she was “absolutely appalled” at 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 1,000 inmates who benefited when then-Governor Kate Brown reduced the prison population during the pandemic.
Calhoun was one of 41 prison inmates whose sentence was reduced by a year by then-Governor Kate Brown in 2021 after they helped fight Oregon’s devastating 2020 wildfires.
Calhoun was released from Columbia River Correctional Institution on July 22, 2021, nearly a year ahead of his scheduled release date, the Oregon Department of Corrections said Friday.
He had served a 50-month sentence for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, burglary and driving a vehicle.
Senator Tim Knopp, leader of the Republican minority in the Oregon Senate, accused Brown of letting “violent offenders” out early. But even if Brown hadn’t commuted Calhoun’s sentence, he would have been released months before the deaths.
The district attorney’s release said that no charges were filed in connection with any of the deaths, but that Calhoun is back behind bars.
Gov. Tina Kotek revoked his conversion on July 3.
The 6ft 4in suspect, who has a history of resisting arrest, was jumping into the Willamette River in Milwaukie and trying to escape when he was found on July 6.
Brown, who left office in January, told Willamette Week she was shocked by Calhoun’s arrest.
“I am deeply shocked for the victims, their families and everyone who has suffered this loss,” she said.
Calhoun will now serve the remainder of his sentence, with his new expected release date set for June 9, 2024, Oregon Department of Corrections spokeswoman Amber Campbell said.