(NewsNation) — A man already accused of killing three women in the Portland, Oregon, area has now been indicted on a fourth murder charge, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Jesse Lee Calhoun was indicted by a grand jury in the 2022 death of 22-year-old Kristin Smith, Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said during a press conference. The new charges include one count of second-degree murder and one count of abuse of a corpse.
Smith’s remains were found in November 2022, but the indictment comes more than two years later as part of a broader investigation into a string of suspicious deaths across Oregon and southwestern Washington.
Victim’s family speaks out
Kristin Smith’s mother, Melissa Smith, said she was “overwhelmed with emotion” after learning of the new indictment.
“I’ve always stayed hopeful that I would get justice for Kristin,” she said at Tuesday’s news conference. “I thank every single person who didn’t give up on this case.”
Calhoun’s previous charges
Calhoun was indicted last year in the deaths of Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. He pleaded not guilty to the three counts each of second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the initial indictment.
He remains in custody in Multnomah County’s Inverness Jail. Officials said his trial is expected to begin in 2027.
The bodies of Perry, Webster and Smith were discovered across various parts of Oregon, while Speaks was found in an abandoned barn in southwestern Washington. The victims were found over several months beginning in early 2023, often in remote areas like wooded trails, culverts and beneath bridges, raising fears of a potential serial killer in the region.
Calhoun had previously been released from prison a year early in 2021 after participating in a wildfire firefighting program during the 2020 fire season. That commutation was revoked in 2023 by Gov. Tina Kotek once Calhoun became a suspect in the serial homicide investigation.
Authorities have not disclosed many details about the case. Vasquez confirmed that the death of another woman from the same time period remains under active investigation.