Jesse Calhoun Is Indicted in the Death of Kristin Smith, a Fourth Woman
A grand jury added murder and abuse-of-a-corpse counts in the 22-year-old's 2022 death to the charges Calhoun already faced in the deaths of three other women.
Published
Kristin Smith was 22 when she was reported missing in December 2022. Her remains were found in Southeast Portland on February 19, 2023. When Jesse Lee Calhoun was indicted in May 2024 in the deaths of three other women, investigators had believed her death was linked to theirs, but it was not part of the case. On Tuesday, August 5, 2025, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez announced that a grand jury had indicted Calhoun in her death as well.
The new indictment charges him with second-degree murder and second-degree abuse of a corpse, the same two counts he already faced in the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leanne Webster, 31, and Joanna Speaks, 32. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in 2024. According to Vasquez, the four deaths spanned five months and Smith's came first, in November 2022; the other three women were killed between March and April 2023, and all three were found that April. KPTV reported that Speaks was found on April 8 in Ridgefield, Washington, Perry on April 24 in east Multnomah County and Webster on April 30 in Polk County.
Vasquez would not say what tied Calhoun to Smith's death. "This remains a very active investigation, and unfortunately, we're not going to be discussing the evidence underlying the charges today," he said. Prosecutors have released few details about the case, including what led them to Calhoun and how the women died.
Melissa Smith, Kristin's mother, had stood with the other families when the first indictment was announced. "I cannot explain the agonizing pain I felt that day that Kristin was not one of those girls," she said at Tuesday's news conference. "It has been a long and agonizing 898 days since the day I found out Kristin Smith was deceased." She said she had never given up. "I've always stayed hopeful that I would get justice for Kristin," she said.
A fifth death remained open. Ashley Real, 22, was found in a wooded area in Clackamas County in May 2023, a month after she was reported missing to Portland police. Vasquez called it "an extremely important case to us" and said his office was working on it with authorities in Clackamas County. KPTV reported that Calhoun was a person of interest in Real's death. "When he [Calhoun] gets indicted or whoever gets indicted for Ashley, we are all going to be here again and we will be standing here for Ashley's family," said Hailey Smith, Kristin's sister.
KPTV reported that Calhoun was scheduled to be arraigned on the new indictment on August 11, and the prosecutor's office said his trial was expected in 2027. His defense attorneys told ABC News they had no comment. He has not been convicted in any of the deaths.
The district attorney's office announced this indictment at a news conference rather than in a written release. This account rests on ABC News's report of that briefing, which quotes Vasquez, and on KPTV's report the same day.
Sources
- Oregon murder suspect now charged in death of 4th woman: DA, ABC News (Meredith Deliso)
- Suspected serial killer Jesse Calhoun charged with 4th murder in Portland metro, KPTV FOX 12
Related News
- September 16, 2026: Jesse Calhoun Is Indicted in the Death of a Sixth Woman, Libby Gibson