Families of Oregon serial killer victims blame police for inaction in investigating case

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By James Gordon for Dailymail.com and Associated Press 03:23 Jul 23, 2023, Updated 04:18 Jul 23, 2023

Family members of four Oregon women who were murdered have criticized how police handled the investigation

The families of two of the four women believed to have been murdered by an Oregon serial killer have blasted the way police have handled the investigation and its slow pace.

Jesse Calhoun, who is being investigated as a “person of interest” in the deaths of four women, had previously attacked and choked one of them, his father claimed.

But Calhoun wasn’t arrested until months after the alleged assault – only after the bodies of the murdered women were discovered scattered across northwest Oregon.

The corpses of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Brigitte Webster, 31; and Ashley Real, 22, were found over a three-month period in wooded areas, under a bridge and in a culvert within about 100 miles, 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 Facebook video that she reported her daughter missing in December to police in Gresham in a Portland suburb, but she said: “I haven’t gotten the help I needed.”

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, attempting to strangle a police dog and burglary

Ashley Real’s body was last found on May 7. Her father, Jose Real, said Friday he called police Nov. 11 after she showed up at his Portland home in tears, saying she had been suffocated by Calhoun.

She had marks on her throat, he said, and he took her to the hospital.

A Portland police officer took an initial report from Real and her daughter and she gave Officer Calhoun’s name. The police wanted her to help find him, but they were afraid to help, he said.

Because the location of the alleged assault was outside of Portland police jurisdiction, the department referred the matter to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

Real said he never heard from the sheriff’s office, even though he and his wife called several times.

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, was found dead in the woods near Portland on February 19 Charity Perry, 24, was found on April 24 Bridget Webster, 31, was found 45 miles south of Portland on April 30 Ashley Real, 22, was the most recent victim: she was discovered on May 7

Melissa Smith also said police were slow to act on her daughter’s case after she was reported missing. Family members posted flyers about the missing woman and searched parts of Portland.

Kristin Smith’s body was the first of four to be discovered in the woods outside a Portland neighborhood on February 19.

“I didn’t get the help I needed to find her and I have concerns about that,” Smith explained in a 10-minute video posted online.

“After some girls went missing, I started getting phone calls and finding a new detective.”

Melissa Smith praised the new detective assigned to her at the Portland Police Department for pursuing the case more aggressively.

“Hopefully we got it,” she said of Calhoun’s arrest. “I want nothing more than justice. I know Kristen was murdered and I trust the police will piece it all together.

“I don’t know if they are related to the other girls. I am in contact with the families of some of the 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, with at least one person of interest.

The statement did not name the person, but a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation named him Jesse Lee Calhoun.

The official requested anonymity because he is not authorized to comment publicly on the matter. Calhoun was arrested June 6 by members of two sheriff’s departments with assistance from the US Marshals Service, the official said.

Melissa Smith, Kristin Smith’s mother, said in a Facebook video that she reported her daughter missing in December to police in Gresham, a suburb of Portland, but “didn’t get the help I needed.”

Portland Police Sgt. Kevin Allen wrote in an email that the department could not comment on any reports or information related to Calhoun due to an “ongoing criminal investigation.”

Sheriff’s Deputy John Plock also said he could not comment due to an active investigation.

Real said he was grateful his daughter was found and he could visit her remains at a Clackamas County cemetery.

“I can tell her, ‘Daddy’s here, mija…you know how much I miss you,'” Real said, using an endearing Spanish term for his daughter.

“Maybe you don’t have a daughter, you don’t have a son now, but believe me, when someone loses a daughter or a son, it’s so sad,” Real told KMTR.

“I can’t protect her. I can’t be with her that day. I still want her taken care of and I feel so sad because I miss that day, I miss that day,’ Real said.

Calhoun has a lengthy criminal record, with felony convictions dating back nearly 20 years.

He was reportedly a talented artist, who told booking officials he made his living painting designs on vehicles.

His first felony conviction dates back to 2004: when he was arrested again in 2018 with methamphetamine, multiple firearms and more than 500 cartridges, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office called him a “prolific thief and career criminal”.

In 2019, he was sentenced to four terms, which were 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.

But he was among 1,000 inmates who benefited from then-Governor Kate Brown reducing the prison population during the pandemic.

Calhoun was one of 41 inmates whose jail term was reduced by one year in 2021 by then-Governor Kate Brown after helping fight the devastating 2020 Oregon 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 announced Friday.

He was serving a 50-month sentence for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, burglary and felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.

Senator Tim Knopp, Republican Minority Leader of the Oregon Senate, faulted Brown for letting “violent offenders” out early. But even if Brown had not commuted Calhoun’s sentence, he would have been released months before the deaths.

The district attorney’s announcement said no charges have been filed in connection with any of the deaths, but Calhoun is back behind bars.

Governor Tina Kotek revoked her commutation on July 3.

The 6ft 4in suspect, who has a history of resisting arrest, jumped into the Willamette River in Milwaukie and attempted to escape when found July 6.

Brown, who left office in January, told Willamette Week she was shocked by Calhoun’s arrest.

“I am absolutely horrified for the victims, their families and everyone who suffered this loss,” she said.

Calhoun will now serve the remainder of his sentence, with his new release date scheduled for June 9, 2024, Oregon Department of Corrections spokeswoman Amber Campbell said.

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