PORTLAND, OR — Jesse Calhoun pleaded not guilty Wednesday through his defense attorney to a fifth murder charge in connection with the death of Ashley Real, 22, whose body was discovered in 2023 alongside four other women in the Portland area.
Calhoun now faces five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of abuse of a corpse in what investigators believe was a serial killing spree targeting young women across northwestern Oregon and southwestern Washington. The victims’ bodies were discovered over several months in early 2023, found scattered across a roughly 100-mile radius in wooded areas, culverts, and near an abandoned barn. Family members of all five victims attended Wednesday’s arraignment at the Multnomah County courthouse, where Calhoun remained silent during the proceedings.
The latest indictment involves Ashley Real, whose father Jose Real had previously contacted police in November 2022 after his daughter arrived at his Portland home with visible marks on her throat, saying Calhoun had attacked her. Jose Real told The Associated Press he took his daughter to a hospital and filed a police report, but the case was transferred between jurisdictions and became difficult to follow up on. Ashley Real’s body was discovered in May 2023 by a fisherman at a pond southeast of Portland, six months after the initial assault report.
Calhoun was previously indicted in the deaths of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. Real, Perry, Webster and Smith were found in northwestern Oregon, while Speaks was discovered near an abandoned barn in southwestern Washington. The Multnomah County Detention Center continues to hold Calhoun without bail. His defense attorneys declined to comment following Wednesday’s hearing. Court documents show the victims’ bodies were found in locations including wooded areas and a culvert, suggesting the suspect deliberately chose remote disposal sites across state lines.
Calhoun’s criminal history includes a four-year prison term for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, burglary and other charges. He was initially released from state prison in 2021, a year early, after participating in Oregon’s prison firefighting program during the 2020 wildfire season. However, Governor Tina Kotek revoked his commutation in 2023 when police began investigating him in connection with the women’s deaths. He was arrested in June 2023 on unrelated parole warrants, then indicted in 2024 and 2025 for the other four murders just weeks before his scheduled release from prison.
The courtroom was filled with grief-stricken family members who spoke emotionally to reporters after the hearing. Jose Real, speaking through a Spanish interpreter with tears in his eyes, recalled watching Ashley grow up and play with her brother. “I never thought or imagined that my family would experience something like this,” he said. “She had a heart of gold.” Masciell Real, Ashley’s sister, expressed mixed emotions about seeing Calhoun in custody. “It takes the weight off my shoulders knowing that he isn’t around and free to cause any harm to any other women out there, but it also doesn’t take away the fact that my sister isn’t here anymore,” she said. Melissa Smith, mother of victim Kristin Smith, described the shared trauma among the families: “We’ve all experienced the worst thing that could ever happen to you, and it’s incredibly hard to see one of the other families hurt the way we do.” Diana Allen, mother of victim Charity Perry, wore a shirt displaying photographs of all five women during the proceedings.
Calhoun remains in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center while prosecutors prepare for trial. No trial date has been set, and the case is expected to involve extensive evidence from multiple crime scenes across Oregon and Washington state jurisdictions.
what the hell were the police doing during all the time after they were noticed, and nothing happened. They are partly responsible for the horror this bag of excrement committed.