‘We just keep going’: Families react to indictment of suspected serial killer

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – More than a year after the body of Charity Perry was found in East Multnomah County, her mother Diana Allen shared just how frustrating it’s been to not have answers.

Details of the man accused in the death of her daughter were revealed on Friday. During a press conference, Allen said she had to respect the hard work of detectives even when they “cared more about justice for Charity than they did for my feelings.”

Jesse Lee Calhoun, accused serial killer, indicted in murder of three local women in 2023

“A lot of the public has felt that nothing has been happening this whole time, and I want to tell you that these detectives have worked so hard and they have made sure that we know that they were working,” Allen said.

Earlier on Friday Multnomah County officials announced the indictment of Jesse Lee Calhoun, a man now accused in the second-degree murder and second-degree abuse of a corpse of three local women.

In 2023, five women were found dead in the span of three months. Although police initially said the deaths were unrelated, they later concluded that four of the deaths may have been linked.

Perry is now considered one of the three women prosecutors accuse Calhoun of killing. She was discovered in a culvert near Ainsworth State Park on April 24.

A few weeks prior, police located the body of 32-year-old Joanna Speaks near Ridgefield. Her death was not initially tied to Calhoun, though a medical examiner previously determined blunt force trauma led to her death.

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One week after police found Perry’s body, 31-year-old Bridget Webster was discovered near Mill Creek in Northwest Polk County.

Last year, four women  – including Perry and Webster – were linked to Calhoun when police named him as a person of interest. However, the deaths of two other women have yet to result in any formal charges.

“Not all of these girls have their charges brought up yet for these other families,” Allen said. “That does not mean we aren’t still standing beside them. We are still together the whole way, always.”

The body of Kristin Smith, 22, was discovered in a field in Southeast Portland in February 2023, just a few months before the body of 22-year-old Ashley Real was found near Judd Road in rural Clackamas County in May.

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Authorities are investigating a possible link between the deaths of these two women and the cases now connected to Calhoun, though details of this investigation have yet to be disclosed to the public.

“It’s still an active investigation for my daughter,” Melissa Smith said. “We just keep going.”

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