Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - LAW ENFORCEMENT ADMITS PORTLAND SERIAL KILLER EXISTS

Episode Date: July 19, 2023

The murders of four Portland women have now been classified as the work of a serial killer. Detectives have linked the murders to a man granted early release from his sentence. Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, was granted early release after he joined a group of inmates fighting devastating wildfires. Calhoun had been sentenced to four years in prison for felonies including burglary, unauthorized possession of a stolen vehicle, and injuring a police officer and a police dog as they attempted to arrest him. Calhoun's clemency has been revoked, and he is back behind bars.  So far, Calhoun has been named a person of interest, not a suspect in the death of four women whose bodies were found within 100 miles of each other. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Jarrett Ferentino- Homicide Prosecutor, Facebook & Instagram: Jarrett Ferentino  Caryn Stark - Psychologist- Trauma and Crime Expert; Twitter: @carnpsych Sheryl McCollum - Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of new podcast, "Zone 7;" Twitter: @ColdCaseTips  Dr. Todd M. Barr - Board-Certified Anatomic/Clinical/Forensic Pathologist (Ohio); Testified in Shawn Grate serial killer case, and featured in "Thin Places: Essays From In Between" by Jordan Kisner Annette Newell - KXL News, Host of "Speaking Freely with Annette Newell;" Alpha Media USA (based in Portland, Oregon); Twitter: @AnnetteNewell16       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Now they tell us. Now they tell us. Why are we just hearing that, oh yeah, guess what, there is a serial killer? We, I, and many others have been screaming from the get-go there is a serial killer stalking Portland. But police not only deny it, they come right out and say point blank we want to address all the quote rumors that there's a serial killer it's absolutely not true now we find out what they said is what's not true that's kind of an outright lie I had to put that on the Portland PD, but it feels like a kick in the teeth

when someone in law enforcement intentionally misleads the public. They stated that they did not want to scare Portland women. How about saving Portland women from a serial killer. And the number one way to avoid being a victim is having knowledge. Knowledge that there is a serial killer and this is his MO, modus operandi, method of operation. These are his victims. This is what they had in common. What, if anything, does that have to do with me? A woman walking down the street, getting out of my car and going into the department store in Portland? But no, they kept it a secret. They knew it, but they not only no comment that that didn't happen, they outright denied it. That said, bombshell, there is a serial killer in Portland. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. Take a listen to our friends at ABC and KATU. A major development in the investigation into the deaths of several women in Oregon. Just one month after police suggested the mysterious deaths of several women in Oregon. Just one month after police suggested the mysterious deaths of six women were not connected, officials now say they believe at least four killings are connected. The victims' bodies were found in wooded and rural areas between February and May. Nine agencies took part in the investigation, leading them to a person of interest. It's a story that has grabbed headlines across the region. The bodies of six women found in or near the Portland metro area

in a relatively short time frame. It sparked weeks of speculation and rumors. Tonight, we know police believe at least four are connected. Investigators say the deaths of Kristen Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Reel are linked, and sources say a person of interest is already off the streets. And I'd like to point out that person of interest who is quote off the streets, Jesse Lee Calhoun, he's 38 years old. When they're saying he's off the streets, that's because they've just

nabbed him. He was behind bars already for a long string of arrests. He is a career criminal. He has attacked a police officer and a canine in the past. He's committed all sorts of felonies, but he got early release under the former governor because she thought he was susceptible to COVID. Okay, he was recently ordered, picked up after. There's clear links to him, and it's just got to be DNA. But that said, he got early release, and I've got copious notes that I've taken about the time. He was released on the streets July 2021. By June, about a year and a half later, 2023, reports emerged in the Oregonian that six young women's bodies have been found. That was fast. He's out less than two years on the street. six women's bodies are found. Right now, four of these women are being linked. I'm waiting to hear about the other two. Now, one may have been an unintentional

overdose. We're waiting to find out about that, but I don't know that. And another thing to consider before I get to my all-star panel is this is a serial killer's dream. It's a no police zone. Remember Portland? Stop police. Get rid of police. Make this a police-free zone. Well, you know what? Here you go. Six dead bodies and a serial killer. That said, again, thank you for being with us. I want to go first out of this all-star panel to Cheryl McCollum, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute, star of a hit new series, Zone 7. You can find her at coldcasecrimes.org. Cheryl, can you believe this? How long have you and I, and many others, I can't take all the credit, been saying there is a serial killer? I don't care what police are saying.

There's a serial killer. It was pretty obvious to all of us. So, again, whatever decision they made. So, maybe they think we're idiots? Well, I mean, if they already identified this guy on their own and they knew he was already locked up, maybe they just wanted to keep playing it because they were interviewing people. Cheryl, he was released. Oh, yeah.

That's how all the women, well, a lot of them got killed. And it'll be a cold day in H-E-double-L that I believe this is his first rodeo. I mean, Karen Stark, you're the renowned psychologist joining us out of Manhattan at karenstark.com. That's Karen with a C. There's no way these are his first murders. It's just not possible. And I want to point out one more thing. In my analysis, I believe that the serial killer obviously used a car because these women are dumped. One was behind a barn in a rural area. One was down a river,

riverside parkway out in a remote area. They're found in wooded and remote areas. He didn't drag them there on his back. Okay. Now let me tell you this detail, Karen Stark. I understand that he has told people, haven't found any verification of it yet, but he is a self-proclaimed artist that he paints individualized, unique art on cars. So there you go. I bet those cars, any car that he has used is full of forensic evidence. But what do you say, Karen Stark first rodeo yes no no i really i can't imagine because when you were somebody who's a serial killer the way that he is and it's woman after woman after woman he had practice on doing this nancy i don't know how he started or where

he started but there are bodies somewhere that this man has definitely killed. And I'm sure they're going to find other evidence because that's just how serial killers work. They don't all of a sudden, most of the time, just kill someone and say, yeah, I'm going to try it. They practice. They practice until they really know what they're doing. And then they keep going and it gets worse. So it's a good thing they found him. And by the way, I think a thousand people were released early when he was. Yeah. Thanks, Governor. Jackie, wasn't that Governor Brown? Yes. Governor Brown. Now we've got Kotick in. She is the one that signed the go get him, put him behind bars order. But it was Brown that released him as part of a giant clean out the jail, get out of jail free moment. Back to you,

Cheryl McCollum, director of the Cold Case Research Institute. Cheryl, what convinced you there was a serial killer long before the Portland police finally told the truth? Well, the dates, you're talking about February 19th to May 7th. You've got four people in a small, condensed area. They all are similar in age from 22 to 31. They look kind of similar. Again, the area that they were last seen is critical. So if they're all in this downtown Portland area, a condensed area, and then they're all dumped in a similar area, that tells you right there, you need to be looking at this as a connection, as links. I want to go now to Annette Newell with KXL News, and she's a host of Speaking Freely with Annette Newell. Annette, thank you for being with

us. Thanks, Nancy. What finally nudged the Portland Police to admit that there's a serial killer stalking women across the Portland area? You know, the Portland police actually have not admitted that yet. The admission really came from the Multnomah County District Attorney because the pressure had finally been too great for them to bear because they had been getting... Basically, we've known what's going on here. It's pretty obvious that there are links between these women. In fact, just this morning, I see in the Oregonian that investigators have been searching a Riverview

apartment where Jesse Lee Calhoun, the suspect, lived with a girlfriend after his June 6th arrest, and that girlfriend confirmed that he had ties to two of these women, Ashley Real and Bridget Walker. So they all knew each other. We know some of these women knew each other. Two of them were good friends growing up as kids. They were friends. You know, so we've known that there's obvious connections here. And I think the pressure finally got so great that they had to come clean and say, yes, there is a connection here.

Well, somebody's head is going to roll and it better roll. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Joining me also, Jarrett Farentino, homicide prosecutor. You can find him on Insta and Facebook at Jarrett Farentino. Jarrett, did you hear what Annette Newell just said? It's always shocking to me to find out a serial killer has like a girlfriend at home and a Riverview apartment blending in with the rest of us. You can't look at someone and tell what's going on, what's lurking behind that facade. I mean, look at the guy they've just arrested for the Long Island serial killings.

He has a wife and two children. He's a respected architect in New York City. Kind of reminds me a little bit of BTK, the dog catcher, a deacon at his church, wife, children. He was killing women left and right, dressing up in their clothes and taking pictures. Okay, so how these people, I can't say that Brian Koberger really blended in, right? He's getting his PhD there at Washington State University, and he had been up to all sorts of freaky shenanigans before he gets charged with murder. But aside from him, so many of these prolific killers blend in with everybody else. Well, that's so true, Nancy, and you raise a good point. We talk about BTK and Kohlberger

and this latest, the architect with the Jilo Beach murders. Fuhrman. Yes, Fuhrman. And the reality is Calhoun is a little different than those individuals. Calhoun is a career criminal and a violent criminal.

This is a guy who choked a dog when the SWAT team came to get him. Okay, stop right there, Jarrett Fiorentino. I knew that he attacked a cop and the canine. I did not know he tried to choke the dog. That's what was reported when the police came to get him. So the reality is this is someone that wasn't hiding in plain sight. This is a violent criminal who has access to 500 rounds of ammunition in one arrest. He always runs when the police come from him. He's jumped in the river. He fights with the police. Oh, yeah. I saw where he actually jumped. And that was at the Willamette River. The Willamette River. Oh, okay. No, I thought

it was Willamette. It's Willamette. Okay. Hold on just a moment. You know, let me just analyze that for a moment. Jarrett Ferentino, when a cop pulls up behind me, I pull over. I turn the car off. I let the window down and I sit there and wait for them to say license registration. This guy jumped in a river. Really? It just goes to the wiring inside of his head.

You know, that's a fight or flight scenario. And this is my 99 cent psychiatry degree. But the reality is some people react. They're compliant. They're fearful. Others want to fight and run. And you just never know. Because they are guilty? Well, typically they're guilty or running from something

else this guy's running from the bodies he has buried all over the community i'm sure let's just say they're guilty of something right it may not be running the stop sign but i mean really karen stark as i used to tell juries many many times i would tell the story about how i would stop but uh when a cop comes up behind you, do you take off at 90 mph and try to get away or jump in a river? No, you don't because you haven't done anything wrong. When someone runs or jumps in a river or tries to strangle a canine dog, I mean, yes, they're guilty. They're not just guilty. They have no fear of authority. That's that's somebody who no, I'll just turn around and fight. So yes, they're guilty. But he's going to fight back

no matter what. There's a reason that this guy was incarcerated. He tried to kill the dog. How many people have the strength to do that? So I hate to say this, but just imagine what it was like for these girls, these women to have to deal with this guy. He's got incredible strength and no fear whatsoever. Guys, we are talking about multiple women now dead. Who are they? What happened? Let's first talk about Kristen Smith take a listen to our friend Drew Marine at KP TV Melissa Smith says Kristen was last seen here near mall 205 take a look at this flyer they've posted around parts of Portland Melissa says she likes to wear different wigs so she may not look

exactly like the photo on this flyer but she has a tattoo of a red butterfly on her right hand it is quite like a piece of you is missing each day that passes and melissa and hayley smith don't hear from 22 year old kristin smith they get more concerned she's in danger a main concern of ours now is sex trafficking. We don't know but with things we've been told or you know people that know her are saying it's a possibility because this is not like her to just disappear. And now a listen to our cut 11 kptv the portland police bureau says they responded to reports of human remains found in a wooded area near southeast steerdorf road and favelle street on february 19th now authorities have confirmed the remains belong to kristin i think of her every

moment of every day and her family search has turned into one for answers what happened i know she didn't just suddenly die out there somebody did something but they say closure would be finding out what happened to kristin for the truth to come out she deserves justice you've got to wonder how all of these victims families are feeling after being told for so long there was not a serial killer and now the truth coming out. And then, of course, in addition to Kristen, there's Joanna Speaks. Take a listen to our cut 19, our friends at CrimeOnline.com. Joanna Speaks is part of a big blended family with three biological siblings, four step-siblings, three nieces, one nephew, as well as three incredible children of her own, Juan, 13, Braxton, 12, and Melanie, 7. In a family this big,

she was still able to stand out. Her stepsister, Ariel Hamby, says as a youngster, she was loud and vibrant. Everything that she did was like go big or go home kind of attitude. Her older sister, Robin Speak, pointed out that she was a fighter, the wild one of all of us. Joanna Speaks was a big kid, hilarious, sarcastic, and super witty. She defines the term one of a kind. I'm just trying to think about Joanna Speaks' family standing by, waiting to hear the latest on her death.

And as you just heard, she is a mom leaving behind children who will grow up without mom. So far, four of the dead women have been connected, we believe, to a career criminal, Jesse Lee Calhoun. And of course, there's more. Take a listen to our cut 23 Fox 12. Just before 6 p.m ridgefield police and clark howlett's fire responded to this abandoned property and found speaks dead near the barn a medical examination ruled it a murderer and clark county sheriffs believe she was killed elsewhere then moved to this location but her killer has not been found. There's no way that she would have gone down without a fight. So whoever did do this likely had injuries or something like that personally as well,

like from her fighting back. How do you continue on? I don't know. Yeah. Nothing is off the table as to what we're thinking could have happened. The family of Joanna Speaks is left shocked and speechless after getting a phone call that their 32-year-old sister from Oregon City was found near an abandoned barn in Ridgefield, Washington. And of course, there's Bridget. Take a listen to our friends at

KOIN. The Polk County Sheriff's Office investigating after a Milwaukee woman's body was found abandoned in their jurisdiction. Deputies say Bridget Webster's body was found on Sunday near Mill Creek in northwest Polk County. They say Webster was last seen alive in the Portland metro area. The Sheriff's Office asking anyone who knew her or has information about her death to call detectives. So far, we're not getting a clear cause of death on all of the women. Those are several of the women that have been found, their bodies littering the Portland area. Annette Newell joining us, KXL. Why are they withholding the COD cause of death? Now, I know one of the victims was bludgeoned. But what about the others? Yeah, one of the family members of the one who was bludgeoned has been in communication with me. And she said that she believed that their bodies were further along, decomposed more than her sister's was. So that made it more difficult to identify a cause of death. And she's been calling for the FBI to get involved because of that, because they need more really good crime scene investigators with the tools to really investigate this. And in fact, she just came up with a list of, she says there are 156 missing women and female children in Oregon since January

of this year. And she's even printed out a list of who's missing by age from the state's website. So to me, that's just a phenomenal number, but she's really gone after this. And you've spoke to her too. Her name is Arielriel you talked to her before um when you had her on about joanna speaks on your show joanna was the only one of the six women who've been found where they've definitively said yes this woman was killed and the cause was murdered murdered by you know in this case blunt force trauma um the other ones they're saying that they don't have a cause of death at least not yet. Interesting. Joining me right now Dr. Todd M. Barr, board certified

anatomic clinical forensic pathologist featured in Thin Places essays from In Between. Dr. Barr thank you for being with us. It would seem to me that even if a body had been lying out behind a barn or down a ravine for some period of time, you would still be able to tell if that body, if that victim had been bludgeoned dead. Because the skeleton itself is not really conducive to deteriorating out of the elements the way soft tissue is. That's correct. If there are, you know, sometimes people can obtain fractures to their skulls from various means, but in this kind of a situation, if a body is found and there's evidence of hemorrhage, blood on the brain, even with a decomposing body, we can still tell if evidence of hemorrhage, blood on the brain, even with a decomposing

body, we can still tell if there's hemorrhage within the calvarium, within the head, and whether or not there are blunt force trauma applied with force to any part of the body. Yeah, there are certain things that we look for. I had a case that I worked on for a serial killing and his ritualistic maneuvers were to hogtie these women after manually asphyxiating them. So there are certain things that you can find even in decomposed bodies and those bodies that I was just speaking of were also decomposed and we were able to collect quite a bit of information. Guys, there is also an unidentified woman. Will she be connected to Calhoun as well? Take a listen to our cut B from KP TV. An unidentified woman between 25 and 40 years old was found dead near I-205 and Southeast Flavelle Street. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner's Office is asking for the public's help identifying her and provided this sketch. They say she was possibly Native American with medium-length black hair and about 5'1". At the time, they say she was wearing a long-sleeved green t-shirt, a black and white jacket, and black and white Adidas cleats. She also had

two tattoos, a black music note with the letter V on her chest and the Buddha on her back. Back to Cheryl McCollum joining us, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute. You can find her at coldcasecrimes.org. Cheryl, what strikes you the most about the way the women's bodies were found and what do you interpret from that? Nancy, you and I both know that the cut, the bluff, they know things. The street talks. I believe that there's some witnesses here that know this perpetrator, perhaps saw him with some of the victims, whether they knew the victims or not. But I think law enforcement got on his radar because of a witness. I think when you look at

the bodies, again, where they were taken from and where they were disposed of, these were not people that had a drug overdose. You're not going to take drugs on 14th Street and then walk four miles and drop dead on the side of the road of a drug overdose. That's not how it happened. They were transported. And I think that's very clear when you look at the distances and you look at again where these started and where they ended. There's another victim, Ashley Real, take a listen to our cut three, KGW. We've heard from two of the law enforcement agencies handling these cases.

And basically, they're not ruling anything out at this point. They're talking with partner agencies on the off chance these cases are somehow connected. And this comes as a relief to the family of one of the five victims. These woods off Southeast Judd Road in rural Clackamas County is where deputies discovered the remains of Ashley Real. The 22-year-old was last seen in late March at a fast food restaurant and transit center in East Portland. These photos of Real are some of the last before she turned up dead in that heavily wooded area. Kristen Smith, age 22. Charity Perry, age 24. Bridget Webster, age 31. Ashley Real,

age 22. Joanna Speaks, age 32. And an unidentified female as young as 25. To Dr. Todd M. Barr, how can you tell the age of someone that is unidentified? Once they're identified, you can pull their driver's license or get their birth certificate and get the age. What about an unidentified female? How do you get the age on that? It's difficult. the state of decomposition. If a portion of the body is skeletonized or if it isn't, we can always do a CT examination or radiological examination to look at the formation of the bones. We can look at the pelvis. We can look at various structures of the body that can indicate

like sutures in the head, whether or not they've fused. There are certain diagnostic criteria that we can use to sort of give an estimated age. In fact, we use a lot of forensic anthropology in cases that are unidentified and skeletonized, and they've been very, very helpful and successful with rendering drawings of what these people may have looked like alive, and combined with the findings of the anthropological examination, we can give it a range of ages. There's no magic wand that you can say, oh, this one's specifically 25 years old, but we would say this is a white woman between the ages of 25 and 30, say, something to that effect.

What is and how does a forensic anthropologist help you? Well, forensic anthropologists are well-versed in the structure of the human body with bones, and when someone is skeletonized and you can't even tell if the person is male or female, they can look at various structures of the bones that are more fitting. And they can actually determine race many times as well, because there are differences between Caucasian features and other races that you can see differences in. So they're well versed in being able to sort those kind of things out. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

You know, I want to focus on how closely together the bodies were found. Since we're not being told the COD caused a death on these women, we know one was bludgeoned. That certainly wasn't an accident or suicide. Then she was dumped in a remote area. Annette Newell, how closely together were the women's bodies found? Yeah, I think in one case it was like less than three miles from each other and all within, you know, certainly a 70-mile radius in the greater Portland metro area. They were found in different counties, which is interesting too. So that's why we have Clackamas County Sheriff's Office investigating one,

Polk County another, Multnomah County another and then the Portland Police Bureau on on the fourth one so all four of the women who are connected to that one person of interest were found in different counties under different sheriff's jurisdictions but one one question I had that maybe the experts could answer is how they're calling him a person of interest, but yet not a suspect. Why might that be? Okay, Jarrett Ferentino, that actually made me chuckle. With me, Jarrett Ferentino, veteran trial lawyer and homicide prosecutor. Jarrett, a person of interest, a POI, once you're called a suspect, you're formally named as a suspect, you are then cloaked, shrouded, protected with constitutional rights. When you're a person of interest, not so much. I mean, let's get real about this. He's the

suspect. He's actually being detained. Of course, this guy's committed suspect he's actually being detained of course this guy's committed so many crimes they could say oh we're detaining him on a shoplifting from 2018 they could say that and it would absolutely be true but he's behind bars right now Calhoun because he's connected to at least four of these women and I'm betting through knowing two of them way back when in elementary or high school and DNA. That's my guess. But you go ahead and take a crack at that. A really good and legal explanation of the difference between POI and suspect. Well, I'll try, but it's worse to be a suspect, Nancy. That one seems to have the greater degree of their stronger evidence, and you are likely to be named the defendant around the corner. However, person of interest has become the preferred term of arc. Cheryl could certainly tell you we were involved in the Brittany Drexel case in South Carolina.

Yes. And Raymond Moody was held as a person of interest. All the while, we knew he was a suspect, had already confessed to the murders at that point. So although your your resuscitation, your recitation about what suspect and person of interest means is correct, it seems like the term of arts are used interchangeably at this point. Yeah, basically, once you're detained, you have constitutional rights. And detained can be in the back of a squad car or somebody saying, hey, hold on, stop right there. And you have to stop. Anytime you're not free to leave, you are detained and your constitutional rights apply. You know, we were talking about a forensic anthropologist and anthropology is the scientific study of the human it can be the human body the skin the skeleton the society ways of communication lore

history culture everything to do with a human a forensic anthropologist is someone that uses that knowledge, in our cases, typically knowledge of the bones and the teeth, to help solve a crime. That's what a forensic anthropologist is. And we need one, a really good one. But back to POI versus suspect, Cheryl McCollum, I often say you go from walking along the street, minding your own business to POI, to suspect, to defendant, to inmate. Inmate. Okay, that's the progression of that.

So once you're a POI, you're on the slippery slope right into the CI, Correctional Institute. Explain. Well, let's talk about why I think he got there. In 2018, Jesse Lee Calhoun is arrested with methamphetamine, guns, and 500 rounds of ammunition. Oh, Cheryl, I left out part of that. You go from walking along the street to being named a bona fide, or as my old law school professor, James Rayburg, would say, bona fide POS. Okay, we start right there. Absolutely true. Okay, or a POC, technical legal term.

Then you go to POI. You go from POC to POI pretty quickly. Okay, back to you. Also in his background is burglary and stolen vehicle. So if the methamphetamine, he was drug dealing, he ain't very good at it. Because if you're a good drug dealer, you don't have to burglarize or steal cars. You can pay for your own stuff. So this guy is stealing because he's a drug addict, I believe. Have you seen his bookend? Have you seen his bookend photo? Absolutely. He looks like he just got out of a fight and he looks mean as H-E-double-L. Let me tell you what. I agree both of them. I wouldn't meet him in a dark alley unless I had a bullet. Right, but this also goes to why

the cause of death may be undetermined. If this was a drug overdose because he's added fentanyl to something or he's got some street level meth that's not as pure as it should be, then somebody that might have used this drug before could in fact overdose, but it could be deliberate. Okay. Hold on just a minute. Can I follow through your line of thinking to its logical conclusion? Are you actually saying that some of these women died of an OD and then he carted their bodies away? Okay, that didn't happen. He murdered them. He did not inject them with bad drugs. Absolutely, he did. Well, we don't know yet. Of course, we don't know yet, but Annette Neal, I recognize your voice.

You want to tell me these women OD'd and then he dragged them on his tricycle eight miles away and dumped their bodies? No, they did not die of him OD'ing them. And if they had OD'd, he would have left them laying right where they are in one of the Portland tent cities full of drug addicts and nobody's helping. Nancy, Karen, the fact that he bludgeoned one of them would lead to... Well, no, wait. That person is not connected yet. Are you talking about Joanna Speaks? Joanna Speaks, the one that we know was bludgeoned. Yeah, but I still say these women, I mean, it's not logical to think that he gave them bad drugs and they OD'd.

And so then he drags their bodies away. That's no. And he's connected for a reason. There's got to be some kind of DNA, MO, something more than he knew two of them in high school. Yeah, I want to add, Nancy, that he also, I can't imagine someone who's a serial killer would want to just drug somebody. There's no fun in that for him. And believe me, he had a good time killing each woman. So that would be way too easy.

Okay, Cheryl, what were you saying now that we've completely destroyed your theory of he intentionally drugged them? I can't believe you even said that. You haven't distorted it. Let me just be clear. They knew this guy since high school. How long has he been a piece of crap? The whole time. He was a piece of crap in high school.

So why are they connecting with him now? Because there's a reason. And I'm saying him having drugs is a plausible reason they got together with him okay what happened after that is something different so if he gave them pills that he knew was laced with fentanyl at a another location to do what he wanted to do they couldn't fight back wait to do what he wanted to are you talking about raping them or killing them either or we don't we don or. We don't know the information yet. I guarantee you he did not OD them and sit back and watch them die. I agree

with Karen Stark. I guarantee you drugs is a connection. Okay, yes. I'm with you on that. He may have known them. Okay, I'll go out on a limb. He did know them through drugs or they're hanging out in the same area where drugs are sold.

But there's no way a serial killer ODs somebody and sits there and watches them die. That's not going to be their COD, cause of death. They may have drugs in their system, but that's not going to be how he killed them. I mean, Ferentino, for Pete's sake, throw me a life raft here. Well, it's typically this guy's getting his kicks by probably bludgeoning. Looking at his background, he has a violent background. So I would take the leap. He strangled a canine, people. What's he going to do with these poor women?

Nancy, he wants to see the life go out of them. You know, that's what he's about. Unless he's high on meth at the time, then he's out of his mind, kicking, punching, strangling, biting, totally out of his gourd. Guys, speaking of Jesse Calhoun, now a POI in the case,

take a listen to our cut 44, our friends at KATU. The person of interest is 38-year-old JesseI in the case. Take a listen to our Cut 40 for our friends at K-A-T-U. The person of interest is 38-year-old Jesse Lee Calhoun. He's currently booked in the Snake River Correctional Institution. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office has described Calhoun as a, quote, prolific thief and career criminal. He was serving a sentence for burglary when granted clemency by former Oregon Governor Kate Brown in 2021. This was for fighting the 2020 wildfires. The clemency shaved about 12 months off his prison sentence.

That sentence was set to end July 2022. And more from our friends at KATU. This is Debra Knapp in our Cut 45. U.S. Marshals were asked to assist the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in apprehending Calhoun on June 6th. That was successful. Oregon Governor Tina Kotak's office says she revoked the commutation for Calhoun July 3rd at the request of the Multnomah County DA's office and he was readmitted to the state on July 6th. We reached out to former Governor Brown for a response on this. She replied with a statement

saying, quote, I'm absolutely horrified for the victims their families and all of those who've experienced these losses. Wow see how she dodged the fact that she's the one that let this guy out and in about a year and a half or so six dead bodies emerged. Now four of these are being we've been told connected to Calhoun and they are Kristen Smith, Charity Lynn Perry, Bridget Leanne Ramsey Webster and Ashley Real. We don't know about the other two yet. Now, we were told that these women have similar appearances, that they have similar hangouts, similar characteristics. That's what we're being told. Are they the same places that Calhoun hung

out we are looking now at the possibility that his vehicle was used to transport these women we're trying to find out if DNA deoxyribonucleic acid is linking him to the women we're trying to determine are they last seen in the same area and we think that they are if a vehicle was used can we in any way get a route even a partial route so traffic cams can be accessed there are similar disposal methods in methods in all of the murders. So where do we go from here, Cheryl McCollum? It is imperative that we look at every unsolved missing person that's been recovered and not recovered. It's important because, again, we've already gone from four victims to six to possibly ten. There's possibly more.

He was killing at a fast rate. He had very little downtime. Again, from February 19th to May 7th, you're talking about four people in less than three months. So there could be more. Again, I believe witnesses on the street know this guy. I think now that he's in jail, they're coming forward because they feel safe to do so. I think he's been a terror to the sex worker population, to the homeless population. They know this guy.

And I think they are cooperating with law enforcement. And I think once law enforcement got his name, they went from videos to cell phones to his vehicle to cigarette butts to hair to flock cameras, etc. This 38-year-old self-proclaimed automobile artist with a very long rap sheet, 6'4", 226 pounds, taking advantage of the abolished police jurisdiction. It's a serial killer's dream come true, just stalking women on the street in Portland. We wait as justice unfolds. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.