PORTLAND — Jesse Calhoun was arraigned in Portland, Oregon, on a fifth murder charge, and his defense attorney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf during the courtroom hearing. Calhoun was recently indicted on a second-degree murder charge for the 2023 death of 22-year-old Ashley Real.
Calhoun remained silent throughout the hearing. Family members of the victims attended the arraignment. Calhoun is charged with five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of abuse of a corpse. The victims' bodies were discovered over several months in early 2023, prompting public discussion of a potential serial killer targeting young women in the region.
Jose Real, Real's father, contacted police in November 2022 after his daughter reported being choked by Calhoun at his Portland home. Real had marks on her throat and was taken to a hospital. An initial police report was filed for the November 2022 incident before the case was transferred to a different jurisdiction.
Real's body was discovered in May 2023 by a man fishing in a pond southeast of Portland. "I never thought or imagined that my family would experience something like this. She had a heart of gold," Jose Real said through a Spanish interpreter. Masciell Real, Real's sister, spoke about seeing Calhoun in court. "I think being in that courtroom today and being able to see him, and know that he is behind bars now, 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," Masciell Real said.
Calhoun was previously indicted in the deaths of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. The bodies of Real, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Kristin Smith were located in northwestern Oregon. Speaks' body was found near an abandoned barn in southwestern Washington. The victims' remains were located within a roughly 100-mile radius, including in wooded areas and a culvert.
Calhoun was arrested in June 2023 on unrelated parole warrants. He was returned to state prison in 2023 to complete a four-year sentence for crimes including assaulting a police officer, strangling a police dog, and burglary. Calhoun was originally released from prison in 2021, one year early, for participating in a 2020 prison wildfire fighting program. The initial indictment was issued weeks before Calhoun's scheduled release from state prison. Governor Tina Kotek revoked Calhoun's sentence commutation in 2023 during the police investigation into the deaths. Calhoun remains in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center. A trial date for the murder charges has not been scheduled.