A new indictment has shed light on how an alleged serial killer in Oregon murdered three women in just over 50 days and hid their bodies.
Jesse Lee Calhoun, 39, was charged this month with the second-degree murder of Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Joanna Speaks, 32, and Bridget Leanne Webster, 31.
A newly released indictment offers the first clear timeline about the women whose disappearances rocked the Portland area last year.
In addition to the second-degree murder charges, he also faces three counts of abuse of a corpse.
The two-page document reveals few details but shows that authorities called 16 witnesses for a closed-door grand jury proceeding earlier this month.
The indictment accuses Calhoun of killing Perry on March 8, 2023; His body was found seven weeks later, on April 24, near Ainsworth State Park.
This undated photo provided by the Oregon Department of Corrections shows Jesse Calhoun.
A newly released indictment offers the first clear timeline for the women whose disappearances rocked the area last year. Charity Perry, left, and Bridget Webster, right, both seen here.
Joanna Speaks’ family had previously said they believe she had died trying to defend herself.
Ten days later, he is accused of murdering Speaks and her body was found three weeks later on an abandoned property in Ridgefield.
It was later determined that Speaks had been murdered in Portland and her body was then moved; Autopsy details show she was killed by blunt force trauma to the head.
His death is the only one of the three in which the manner of death has been revealed.
The indictment alleges Calhoun killed Webster on April 26 and her body was found four days later in Polk County.
Perry’s mother, Diana Allen, says her daughter was known to frequent an open-air drug market in downtown Portland, where deputies say she was last seen.
Allen recently learned that her daughter had overdosed in the area on March 6 and was taken to the hospital.
The moment of his death, just two days later, is painful for Allen, who said NBC24: “That’s the hardest thing to process.”
Now that he knows the date of her death, Allen told the outlet that he would add it to his daughter’s headstone.
Speaks’ family had previously said they believe she had died trying to defend herself.
Speaks’ body was found three weeks after his death on an abandoned property in Ridgefield, seen here.
Calhoun has also been identified as a person of interest in the deaths of Kristin Smith, 22, left, and Ashley Real, 22, right.
Her sister Robyn Speaks previously told KOIN: ‘She wasn’t afraid. She guaranteed you that she defended herself.
Speaks had a seven-year-old daughter and two teenage sons, according to his sister.
Calhoun has also been identified as a person of interest in the deaths of 22-year-old Kristin Smith and 22-year-old Ashley Real.
Calhoun has a long criminal history, with felony convictions dating back nearly 20 years.
He was reportedly a talented artist and told reservation officials that he made a living by painting designs on vehicles.
His first felony conviction was in 2004. He was arrested again in 2018, with methamphetamine, several weapons and more than 500 rounds of ammunition.
The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office called him a “prolific thief and career criminal.” In 2019 he received four sentences, which will be carried out simultaneously.
Calhoun has a long criminal history, with felony convictions dating back nearly 20 years.
Calhoun was one of 41 inmates whose sentence was reduced by one year in 2021 by then-Governor Kate Brown after they helped fight devastating wildfires in Oregon.
Calhoun was released from Columbia River Correctional Institution on July 22, 2021, nearly a year before his scheduled release date.
He was serving a 50-month sentence for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, robbery and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.
The 6-foot-4 suspect, who has a history of resisting arrest, jumped into the Willamette River in Milwaukie and tried to escape when he was found on July 6.
The district attorney’s office said a date had not yet been set for his first court appearance on the new charge, and he remains at the Snake River Correctional Institution.
