Portland, Ore.– A man accused of killing several women and dumping their bodies in the Portland area was arraigned Wednesday on a fifth murder charge.
Jesse Calhoun A defense attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf in a Portland courtroom where family members of the victims were present. The hearing, during which Calhoun remained silent, came after he was indicted last week on the latest charge of second-degree murder over the 2023 death of Ashley Real, 22, in the case.
Calhoun has now been charged with five counts of second-degree murder involving five victims, as well as four counts of abuse of a corpse. The bodies of the victims were found over several months in early 2023, raising concern at the time that a serial killer might be targeting young women in the area.
Calhoun was previously charged with the murder of Christine Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster (31); and Joanna Speaks, 32 years old.
He remains in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center. His defense attorneys did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Real, Perry, Webster, and Smith were found in northwest Oregon, while Speaks was found near an abandoned barn in southwest Washington. Their bodies were found Within a radius of approximately 100 miles (160 km), including wooded areas and waterways.
Jose Real, Ashley Real’s father, was crying as he spoke to reporters after the hearing. He recalls memories of watching her growing up and playing with her brother.
“I never thought or imagined that my family would witness something like this,” he said through a Spanish translator. “She had a heart of gold.”
Maciel Real, Ashley’s sister, also spoke through tears.
“I think being in the courtroom today and being able to see him, knowing that he’s behind bars now, will ease the burden off my shoulders, knowing that he’s not there and free to cause any harm to any other woman out there,” she said. “But that also doesn’t negate the fact that my sister is no longer here.”
Relatives of other victims were also present.
“We’ve all been through the worst thing that could ever happen to you, and it’s so hard to see another family hurt the way we are,” said Melissa Smith, Christine Smith’s mother.
Jose Real She previously told the Associated Press He called police in November 2022 after his daughter showed up crying at his Portland home, saying she had choked on Calhoun’s hand. He said she had marks on her throat and took her to the hospital.
Riyal said at the time that an initial report had been taken from the police, but the case was then referred to a different jurisdiction and it was difficult to reach the authorities supervising it. Details of the attack were first reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
His daughter’s body was found in May 2023 by a man who was fishing in a pond in southeast Portland.
Calhoun was arrested in June 2023 on unrelated parole warrants, then charged in 2024 and 2025 in the deaths of the other four women. The initial indictment came weeks before Calhoun was released from state prison, where he was returned in 2023 to serve a four-year sentence for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, burglary and other charges.
He was initially released in 2021, one year early, because he helped fight the 2020 bushfires under the Prison Fire Programme. Governor Tina Kotick He canceled the dilution In 2023 when the police began investigating him for the deaths.
A trial date has not yet been set.