Oregon man accused of killing 3 women and dumping their bodies is indicted on fourth murder charge

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man accused of killing three women in the Portland area and dumping their bodies has been indicted on a fourth murder charge, authorities said Tuesday.

A grand jury has indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun in the November 2022 death of 22-year-old Kristin Smith, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said during a news conference. The new indictment, which comes roughly 2 1/2 years after Smith's remains were found, adds one count each of second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse to Calhoun's case.

Calhoun was indicted last year in the deaths of Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. He pleaded not guilty to the three counts each of second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the initial indictment.

He remains in custody in Multnomah County's Inverness Jail, and his trial is expected to be held in 2027, authorities said. His defense attorney, Cameron Taylor, declined to comment.

Melissa Smith, Kristin Smith's mother, said she was “overwhelmed with emotion.”

“I've always stayed hopeful that I would get justice for Kristin,” she said at the news conference. “I thank every single person who didn't give up on this case."

Perry, Webster and Smith were found in Oregon, while Speaks was found in an abandoned barn in southwestern Washington. Their bodies were found over several months starting in early 2023 — in wooded areas, in a culvert and under a bridge — in a roughly 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius, sparking concern that a serial killer might be targeting young women in the region.

Police and prosecutors have shared little information in the case. The death of another woman during that time period is still being investigated, Vasquez said.

Calhoun was arrested in June 2023 on unrelated parole warrants and indicted in May 2024 in the women’s deaths. The indictment came weeks before Calhoun was due to be released from state prison, where he was returned in 2023 to finish serving a four-year term for assaulting a police officer, trying to strangle a police dog, burglary and other charges.

He was initially released in 2021, a year early, because he helped fight wildfires in 2020 under a prison firefighting program. Gov. Tina Kotek revoked the commutation in 2023 when police began investigating him in the deaths.