'Career criminal' released early from prison after receiving clemency from Dem governor now a 'person of interest' in the deaths of 4 Oregon women

A "career criminal" in Oregon who was released early from prison two years ago is now a "person of interest" in the cases of four women who died earlier this year.

Investigators with several different law enforcement agencies have been investigating the deaths of six women whose bodies were discovered within a 100-mile radius in Oregon and Washington between February and May of this year. While initial reports dismissed a connection between the cases, investigators later found a person who could be linked to four of the women: Ashley Real, 22; Bridget Webster, 31; Kristin Smith, 22; and Charity Lynn Perry, 24.

Though a joint press release from the office of the Multnomah County District Attorney did not name the "person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents," multiple outlets have identified the man as 38-year-old Jesse Lee Calhoun of Portland. Police had previously described Calhoun as a "prolific thief and career criminal" who has been in and out of prison since 2004, the Post Millennial reported

Screenshot of KATU News YouTube video (Featured: Jesse Lee Calhoun)

In 2019, Calhoun began serving a sentence for several felonies, including burglary, possession of a stolen vehicle, injuring a cop, and choking a police canine. He was scheduled to be released in June 2022. However, he was among the inmates who volunteered to help fight wildfires over Labor Day weekend in 2020. Between that volunteer service and lingering concerns about COVID, then-Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, included Calhoun among the 1,000 Oregon convicts who would receive clemency the following year. He was released in July 2021, nearly a full year early.

At the request of law enforcement, current Gov. Tina Kotek, also a Democrat, rescinded Calhoun's clemency on July 3, 2023. When officials came to arrest him for a possible parole violation, Calhoun allegedly attempted to evade capture by jumping into the Willamette River in Milwaukie, Oregon, just south of Portland. He was eventually detained in the river and then brought into custody at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, where he is expected to serve out the rest of the sentence he began in 2019. He is currently scheduled to be released again on June 9, 2024.

The statement from the DA's office noted that "no charges have been filed against anyone" in connection with the deaths of the four women and that their "cause and manner of death" officially remains "undetermined." However, several outlets, including the Post, have reported their deaths to be "suspicious." KOIN even reported that the four women had been "killed."

When asked for comment, former Gov. Brown said, "I am absolutely horrified for the victims, their families, and all those who have experienced these losses."

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