Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Suspected Serial Killer Hunted Women in the Northwest: DA

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

Jesse Lee Calhoun, 40, is charged with murdering four women in late 2022 and 2023 in Portland, Oregon. Calhoun is suspected in a fifth murder but hasn't been charged. The victims have been dubbed "The Portland Five." Calhoun was a convicted felon who won early release. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy talks with Diana Allen, the mother of victim Charity Perry, about how she and other victims' family members investigated the murders in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Diana AllenCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We remain committed to the investigation and to securing justice for each of these women. A suspected serial killer is behind bars in Oregon and the family members of the women he's accused of murdering are a big part of the reason why. The things that we have learned while out on the streets, like they're very dark. I talk with Diana Allen about her daughter, Charity Perry, how Jesse Lee Calhoun was caught, and the questions that linger. I'm Ann Janette Levy and this is Crime Fix. You know, there's a reason that Morgan and Morgan is America's largest personal injury law firm. It's because this firm, it fights for its clients and wins a lot in court. The firm has more than 1,000 lawyers that have recovered $25 billion.

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There's a man in jail in Oregon that the families of the young women he's accused of murdering believes is a serial killer. The fears that a man was prowling the streets looking for vulnerable women to target surfaced back in 2023 and the families of those young women. They launched their own investigation of sorts. You're going to hear from one of them shortly. Between February and June of 2023, the bodies of six women were found within a 100-mile radius of Portland. Kristen Smith was the first victim. Her body was found on February 19, 2023. Joanna Speaks was also murder. murdered, her body was found in early April 2023. Bridget Webster

vanished in early March and her body was found on April 30th, also discovered in late April of 2023 the body of Charity Perry. And then Ashley Rial was found in May. The five women were loved by their families. All were invulnerable positions, suffering from either mental health issues or struggling with addiction.

They became known as the Portland Five, A man named Jesse Lee Calhoun. He's been in jail since 2023 in July of that year. Police said they had a person of interest in those five murders, but they didn't identify him publicly until May of 2024. But there are questions about whether Calhoun should have been on the streets in the first place in 2023. Calhoun had a criminal history, including convictions for burglary and theft. He started serving a four-year sentence in 2019 on those charges, but was granted clemency and 2021 because of good behavior and because he worked as a prison firefighter during wildfire season in 2020, according to Fox 12 Oregon. That clemency was revoked by another governor in 23 when it became clear that Calhoun was a person of interest in the homicides. Currently, Calhoun is charged with murdering four of the Portland Five. Here's the DA at a press conference back in 2025. We are here today to announce that the grand jury has indicted Jesse Calhoun for the November 20th, 2002 murder of Kristen Smith.

As you may know, Mr. Calhoun is already charged with murdering Charity Perry, Joanna Speaks, and Bridget Webster between the dates of March and April of 2023. This indictment adds two additional accounts, murder in the second degree and abuse of a corpse in the second degree. Now the DA says that Kristen Smith was the first victim of Jesse Lee Calhoun and that she was murdered on November 20th, 2022. Her mother Melissa spoke at that press conference. As a lot of you may know, this is my other daughter, Haley, that's been right there beside me this whole nightmare of a roller coaster.

I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm really overwhelmed with emotion. I stayed strong, doing all I could, trying to save my daughter. And it was just unbearable to find out I was too late and needed help finding her. And I did everything I could to try to get answers and fight and search. And I couldn't have done any of that or survived each day if it was. wasn't for my family. If it wasn't for my daughter, without my friends, friends that didn't care where we were going or what we were doing, we just went and we were searching, hanging flyers, everything. I want to thank everybody for all the support and love and keeping Kristen's name and

memory alive and not forgotten. I thank the other victim's families for staying by my side the whole way. We searched together, we fought together, we never gave up. And to still stay by my side even after Jesse Calhoun was indicted for your three loved ones. And Kristen wasn't, you're here with me today. As Melissa Smith spoke, you could tell that she feared charges might not come in her daughter's case. It's been a long agonizing, eight hundred and And 98 days since the day I found out, Kristen Smith was deceased. Then on May 17th, 2024, last year,

the police made their statement that Jesse Calhoun was being indicted for the three of the five girls. I can't explain the agonizing pain I felt that day that Kristen was not one of those girls. I stood strong with the other families and was happy they got their answers and prayed every day.

This day would come for me. for us. It's been 445 days since the first indictment of the three girls. 445 days still fighting with the other victims' families. I've always stayed hopeful that I would get justice for Kristen and kept the faith in my two DAs. I've never lost hope. I too fought for answers. I always told Kristen growing up, never give up. You too. I never gave up, and I never will. I think every single person who didn't give up on this case,

my family, my friends, most importantly, every single person who never forgot about these five women, our family, our angels, they're all taken too soon. The Portland Five will never be forgotten. Kristen Smith was 22 years old when she was murdered. her mother had written on Facebook that she searched for her daughter for four months before finding out that she had been murdered. Jesse Calhoun was previously indicted in the murders of Charity Perry, Joanna Speaks, and Bridget Webster. One of the prosecutors on the case spoke about the murder charge in Kristen Smith's death.

This re-indictment of Mr. Calhoun marks a significant milestone in this case. We want to recognize the strength and the patience that Kristen Smith's family has shown. throughout this entire process. Kristen was 22 years old at the time of her death. It's been nearly two and a half years since her remains were located. And we recognize that the uncertainty around whether somebody would be charged and when that would occur has been extremely difficult for the family. We're thankful for their trust and their patience and for the trust and patience of all of the other impacted families.

I want to be very clear we have a very long road ahead. Trial is currently expected to occur in 2027, and we have a lot of work to do between then and now. We remain committed to the investigation and to securing justice for each of these women. We appreciate all of your time. 2027 has to feel like an eternity to the families of Kristen, Joanna, Charity, and Bridget. As we all know, Jesse Calhoun is in custody and has been for some time. While we cannot share specific details due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, I can share that from the very beginning, our detectives were fully committed to uncovering the truth. Over the past two and a half years, this case has demanded relentless work, countless hours, and unwavering dedication.

Our investigators pursued every lead, reexamined every piece of evidence, and followed the facts wherever they led. and our work is far from over. But there is still the question about whether charges will be filed in Ashley Rial's murder. No one has been charged in her case. I can just say that that is an extremely important case to us. It's one that's currently under investigation. We continue to partner and work with the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office and the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office as we continue to investigate that one.

I want to bring in Diana Allen. She is Charity Perry's mother. and she has been waiting a really long time for answers in her daughter's death. So, Diana, thank you so much for agreeing to talk with me. First of all, how are you doing? It really depends on each moment, each day. It does seem to come and go. Doing a lot better in the beginning.

There's a lot of medical issues that came up. the beginning. And I know a lot of the other families have those troubles as well. Just in dealing with the grief and the loss of your daughter? Yeah. And then, like, the loss of a loved one is so impacting. And especially when it's your child. But then the, the, the, the, the, things that we have learned while out on the street, like, they're very dark and that we've learned that those trials are going to be very ugly. And I think that that adds even more so. And then the length of time that it's going to be until trial, like there's so many answers that you want to

want to know. Like, I didn't even know what day my daughter died. They're very sure it's March 8th, but I still don't know why they're so sure about that day. And I'm not going to know until 2027 or if they add more girls, that timeline can continue to be pushed back. So I may not know until 2028 even these answers and while they're sitting there in your heads like how do you stop and grieve and move on with your life when those holes are there right are they are they not able to tell you with certainty about the March 8th date because it's about the evidence they've collected and things like that? Is that why they can't tell you they're certain that that's when charity passed away? So the detective told me that he is positive. It is March 8th. And I did look in, the look in his eyes.

It's very securing. Like I have so much confidence in their reasoning, but they have not. shared with me why they're so positive. And in the beginning, they were so sure it was April that I have April on her headstone or marker, you know, and it was a big thing for me to want to know what day I've left that part of her marker open. And so now I have to go go, go, back and put March on. And when I know for sure what evidence it is that they have, to also add that it's March 8th. Mm-hmm. You said that you've been told that the trial, that it's going to be very dark. And I,

you mean, we're dealing with somebody. I hate to even use the name, but Jesse Lee Calhoun, who's accused of murdering several young women. I mean, these are people's daughters and sisters. And so, I mean, I can only imagine what is going to happen during the trial. Have they given you any hints as to what we're going to learn? Because, I mean, this guy, he was let out on clemency or whatever. He was granted clemency by the governor, Calhoun was, and he gets out and he's not out very long. And then the DA says he starts murdering women. So just in the one statement that you

that you just made, there's so many different points. So one, they had to block out three months. They're assuming that the trial would take three months, and they had it to start in February, 27. Now that they've added Kristen to the indictment list, they did let us know that that's going to go back a few more months. We're still expecting them to add Ashley at some point in time, and if the jurisdiction is that it is, that it is in Multnomon County and to occur at the same time, I assume that that means that that'll push that back again. I do myself also believe that there are others that could possibly be added to the indictment

or that this length of time between now and when trial starts is also going to give them enough time to continue looking into the possibility of other victims. Diana, I want to go back to the very beginning. When did you realize that something was wrong and that charity was missing? So the first time that charity went missing was actually around like December, January, and I didn't have records at that time. She had been released from a mental hospital to a group home. And so I did, I found her after that and it took me a while to actually find her on location.

That whether she had been a ward of Washington State due to mental health or not since she was over 18, when the police found her that time, that they couldn't tell me where she was, just that she was no longer missing. I was in communications with charity or people around charity until the very end of February. And there were some medical issues. So I lost track of her in,

March. But I didn't know that like she was missing off the streets as well because of the mental health issues, because of the choice for the unstable living. Because she had a home, she had a state awarded group group home. But she walked away from it two days after being there. and they couldn't tell me like I had communication with her in January. I had communication with her in the beginning of February. And they could not help me find where that home was to get her back to it. That what they said was to take her in to the hospital for mental health evaluation and then to have her sign a release of information.

And then they could talk to me about it. Well, it was that end of February when she didn't want to meet with me in person. She didn't want to go back to the hospitals. She just spent several months in a few different hospitals in 2020. three. And so I wasn't even, I wasn't even aware, honestly, that she was flat out missing. Wow. When did you really start to worry and think to yourself, something is really not right. I should have heard from her by now. So I started to worry about her around March 11th when there were articles in the Portland papers and on the news about that open air fentanyl market.

And there had been 11 people who had overdosed during that time. And I was sincerely just afraid that he was going to. going to, not that she was one of those people, you know, because you would, but that, that's, I was going to be getting a phone call at some time. They had that new tranquilizer that was being mixed into the drugs. And so I really started to worry about the 12th of March. And unfortunately, I guess it was already too late at that time. time. Wow. So and then um during that time also I was having some medical issues with cyst and waiting for a biopsy. Since then we found out that for sure it wasn't breast cancer, but it definitely like um my health left me for me for sure it wasn't breast cancer, but it definitely like um, my health left me flacking on trying to find her.

The last that Diana Allen knew, her daughter was in the Vancouver, Washington area, so she said she started looking for charity there. When the other tentmates hadn't seen her either in the Vancouver area was probably the end of March. And I just kept waiting for a phone call because she was probably the end of March. phone call because she had a pattern of going to random cities with random people. She definitely was playing odds, and her mental health played so much of that. She just getting a vehicle with somebody and not realize that she was going to end up as far. if she had.

So I kept waiting for a hospital or a sheriff's office to call me to come pick her up. I always had before. You know, I picked her up in Astoria. I picked her up in Cottage Grove. I picked her up in Portland. And most of the time, it's the hospitals that would contact me, you know, and let me know that she was in there. She spent some time in Longview, Washington and St. John's Medical Center as well.

And when they weren't calling, I started really to get worried. It only usually was within two, three months that some office would call me and ask me to come pick her up. it turned out she was in a hospital in March 6 and they they didn't they didn't call you know the the what if is overpowering uh there's quite a bit of guilt on my own side you know and that if they did just done like they always had before and just called me on that date. I would have picked her up, not found out that two days later she was then murdered. I'm so sorry. I know you said you feel guilt, but I hope you don't blame yourself for that. I there's, you know, I really believe there's nothing you could have done. I know that you and some of the other mom's family and the,

the family members went out seeking answers on your own, trying to figure out what happened. So tell me about that. So I got the phone call April 26th that they had found my daughter's body. I guess they found it April 24th, and it took a few days for fingerprinting. it was about seven days after that that Ariel reached out to me. And I, to back up, just so you understand, the details that I was given about how they found my daughter immediately put it in my mind that this was what had happened to her. You know, it fit the victim profile or MMO of a serial killer. And mind you, a few weeks before that, Joanna had been on the news.

The discovery of Joanna's body had been on the news as well. And the first thing I thought of that when it was just Joanna was, oh, goodness. That's how most of those shows start, you know, watching true crime that it does tend to be this pattern of bodies and found in rural areas or, you know, so it already was there. So I was expecting trolls that the person who killed my daughter could have got. reached out to me, just random crazy people. So when Ariel reached out to me, I put it in that, that this could be the perpetrator, this lady could be crazy. And she mentioned that the detectives would be coming up to Washington

a few days later. Well, she would not have known that if her did. detectives weren't talking to my detectives. It was at that point in time that I knew that she really was herself. So we were communicating about the possibility of our loved ones being connected within 10 days of that initial phone call. Diana said the families knew that something was definitely wrong. So they got together to compare notes. We got together in a hotel along with Melissa, Kristen's mother. and I'm not sure if I wrote down what day that was. Is that the Monarch Hotel?

And Melissa came with their notes and Ariel came with her sister Robin. And we very cautiously shared just a few details. And there was one that, They shared about her sister. And I think, because I've been very tight-lit about many of the details. Right. And I think just the look on my face, let them know that that was a detail that was attached to charity as well. and just that gut feeling that somehow these were linked.

And that was well before the newspapers started saying that there was connections between at least three of the girls and father's heart. Or well before they said that four of the deaths were connected. This was even before we knew that there was four deaths. at that time. Wow. So what do you all collectively do as a group? I mean, you compare notes, you hit the streets. Like, what do you do?

Yes, ma'am. Like, so we originally compared notes, and we decided that we were to get together on a flyer. We discussed different YouTube, I don't know if they're journalists or you know but different people with accounts on YouTube who are reaching out trying to get a hold of us trying to get personal information that's a very positive and negative thing

from each and every one of them who helped or wanted to we put the flyers together of all the girls and started handing them out. We made a Google Voice phone number for a tip line, which you can then keep your own personal number anonymous. We put together an email so that they can send us tips. through that route. We took turns as to what time of the day we would answer phone calls because some of us were working.

We had different sleep schedules. I'm more morning person, so I'd take the morning shift. We would come up together with questions to send out on the street. with the YouTubers that were going out and we worked with many of them and tell individually which ones weren't workable anymore. And just continue, like with every tip that there was, every newspaper article that suggested anything, like, we went out there. And we tried to find the people on the streets that had said that they had made,

comments. We emailed people, we Facebook people. There was a, there is a Facebook group chat and where the community came together and helped us well. I'm sorry that I can't remember the lady's name to the lady, but she made this thing that we called a spaghetti map. And it showed connection. between all of the girls. At that time, it did not show the name Jesse Lee Calhoun. It did show people that were close to him, and it showed a pattern of how these girls had little connections over social media to each other or to common people. So we tracked those people down and started asking them questions.

Wow. So how does Jesse Lee Calhoun come into the picture? I imagine for detectives right away when Ashley became involved as well. When it comes to charity, I'm still missing how he was connected to her. So when you get the name, what are your feelings and your thoughts? where my first thought was where the hell did this guy come from you like that because again when it comes to charity i still don't know where the connection is with charity charity and um jesse i understood where it came from with Ashley, understood where it came from with Bridget, you know, that, and when it comes to Kristen, Bridget, Ashley, and Joanna, those things made sense that he could then be connected

to those four. we're still not sure how it was with charity. So the other four girls, not together, two of them and two of them went to school together at some point in time, that they were friends at some point in time. So if one of them knows each other, it made sense that the second friend would know them, they had been in that location. Last I knew, Terry had been in Vancouver.

I wouldn't have, it would have took me like seven different trips of handing out flyers before I ever got over towards the Gresham area where the rest of these girls had been or been involved in. So you, you have no clue how he came upon charity. Do you think that the police know? I do. I do think that the...

Yes, ma'am. Yep. And that it is, for my own assumptions, is either through friends, associates, because it did turn out that, like, charity had visited Father's Heart, and so had Joanna and so had Bridget. You know that there was also the idea that charity had been at an apartment complex that was the same area as Bridget, if not the same

apartment. And so, and what I've heard about Joanna and Bridget, especially Bridget, is she had this amazing heart, this beautiful, loving, amazing heart, you know. And if she's seen my girl, struggling, she would have wanted to help her. Yeah. You know, I have a few other people who have called in on the tip line and that they've had ideas on, like, they had met charity. And so it's a good, good possibility that because the people they know knew justy and they knew charity that there that there is some kind of a witness to them knowing each other for a short time or that because of my daughter's mental health like she knew the world was ugly she's kind of like me and she forgot that people themselves could be, that the person in front of you could be as dark as they are.

And I hear that from time to time, Jesse could be a very smooth-talking, friendly fella, you know, and she honestly could have just been a stranger walking down the road. He was a cute guy who offered food, a bed, and drugs. You know, and that's true, too. Charity Perry obviously had some things in life that she struggled with, but her mother said she was a good person with a good heart. I asked her what else she wanted people to know about her. My favorite thing in life, my biggest accomplishment that I ever had in my whole life, my first moment that I knew that this is where I belonged was being a mom. And she, she gave that to me. You know, for charity herself, you know, that there was this beautiful side of her.

When Katie's had the earthquake, she was so impacted because they showed that in school, that she got the whole school to do a penny drive. And that wasn't, it wasn't homework. It was just something that, you know, they had done like the March of Dimes kind of thing throughout the school. And so that she wanted to do that. All I had to do is tell her, well, let's bring it up to the principal, you know. And she accomplished that. And she also did a big food drive for the humane society.

And I want to say it was 500 pounds of food, but I can't remember exact numbers. But there's this photo of her sitting on this giant pile of just dog food because she wanted to make a difference. She impacted people throughout her whole life. And I learned that that continued on the street, too. And that she may have visited dark places because of the mental health and because of the drugs. Because sometimes she chose drugs and was of sound mind, you know, like sugar coating this or lying would do me no. good since what I wants the truth, you know. But it sounds like even in these dark places, she still was a light on a good day. Well, again, I'm so sorry for your loss. And it doesn't matter

if she had struggles with mental illness and drugs. She didn't deserve to have her life taken from her. And, you know, you don't deserve to have your daughter taken from you. Is there anything else that you want to add, Diana? Yeah, that just the, and I don't want this to only be about charity, but we'll focus on her for now. when you lose someone like charity that everybody who knew her is losing this different charity like the picture that they see in their mind is not always this 24 year old who was having such troubles and on the streets um my cousin every time she closed

close her eyes or she thinks of her, she remembers the first time she met her with, you know, she was this little tiny baby in the hospital. You know, that's who she sees that she lost. And there are people who, it's, it's that first grader in elementary school. Like, the loss of these ladies is impacting everybody from their past, all of the, way to the present. Them other girls, they were like that too. Diana, I really appreciate you sharing your story with me, and I hope we can talk again some other time.

Right now, Jesse Lee Calhoun's trial is scheduled to begin in 2027. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.