A PERSON of interest has been identified with information allegedly linking them to the deaths of four Oregon women whose bodies were found within three months.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office told The U.S. Sun on Monday that investigators interviewed multiple people and identified at least one person of interest.
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"Based on the available information to investigators, there is not believed to be any active danger to the community at this time," the spokesperson said.
They declined to name the person of interest at this point in the investigation.
However, local news outlet Willamette Week reported that 38-year-old Jesse Calhoun, one of the more than 1,000 inmates who were granted clemency by former Governor Kate Brown, was the person of interest identified by authorities.
His clemency was later revoked by Governor Tina Kotek's office on July 3.
OREGON MURDERS
Calhoun has been held at the Snake River Correctional Institution since July 6 on charges unrelated to the deaths of Kristin Smith, 22, Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leann Ramsay Webster, 31, and Ashley Real, 22, according to an inmate search.
Calhoun has a lengthy rap sheet with felony convictions dating back to 2004.
In 2018, he was arrested and found with meth, guns, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office calling him a "prolific thief and career criminal."
His most recent conviction was in November 2019, when he pleaded guilty to several crimes including burglary, unauthorized possession of a stolen vehicle, and injuring a police officer and police dog as they tried to arrest him.
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He received four concurrent sentences - the longest being 50 months including almost nine months he had already served - with a projected release date of June 30, 2022.
Calhoun was able to shave off 11 months of his sentence after volunteering to fight wildfires with several other inmates and he was released on July 22, 2021.
The DA's office said that no charges have been filed in the Oregon murders, however, that may change in the coming weeks.
HAUNTING DISCOVERIES
There were rumors of a possible serial killer in the state after the bodies of six women were found within three months of each other - mostly in secluded or wooded areas.
The first body was discovered on February 19, when Portland cops responded to a report of human remains found in a wooded area in Pleasant Valley.
The victim was Smith, who was reported missing on December 22.
A medical examiner confirmed the remains were Smith on May 25 but her cause of death hasn't been determined and the investigation into how she died is ongoing.
Police and firefighters found the second victim, 32-year-old JoAnna Speaks, dead inside a barn in Clark County on April 8.
The barn was located on an abandoned property in Ridgefield, Washington about 22 miles north of Portland.
According to the county medical examiner, Speaks died from blunt force trauma to her head and neck.
Her death is being investigated as a homicide.
Days later, on April 24, the body of Perry was discovered in a culvert in Multnomah County.
The sheriff's office said that her death has been ruled suspicious.
Few details about the case have surfaced as the investigation is ongoing but the sheriff's office said that Perry was frequently seen in downtown Portland near the Washington Center and a former open-air fentanyl market.
The site was cleared by cops after 11 people overdosed in one night in the area, including three people who died, according to Oregon Live.
A second woman who has yet to be identified was found dead on the same day as Perry.
Her body was discovered less than three miles from where cops found the first remains in the series of mysterious deaths.
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Office is asking for help in identifying the woman, who they believe is of Native American or Native Alaskan descent and between the ages of 25 and 40.
The woman had black, medium-length hair, was over five feet tall, weighed 135 pounds, and had two big scars on her lower left leg.
She also had two noticeable tattoos, a black music note with the letter V on the left side of her chest and a Buddha on her right upper back.
At the time of her discovery, the woman was wearing rings and bracelets, a long-sleeve green shirt, a black and white zip-up jacket, jeans, and black and white Adidas cleats.
The fifth victim, Webster, was found shortly before 2.30pm on April 30 on Harmony Road in Polk County.
Officials are investigating her death as suspicious.
The latest body to be found was that of Real, who disappeared on March 27 after she was last seen leaving a fast food restaurant in Portland.
A fisherman called 911 on May 7 after spotting her remains in a heavily wooded area in Eagle Creek.
Real was identified on May 31 and her death is being investigated as suspicious.
LINK CONFIRMED
After months of rumors of a possible serial killer, the Multnomah County DA finally revealed on Sunday that four deaths were believed to be connected.
"Investigators and prosecutors from multiple law enforcement agencies have been working collaboratively on numerous death investigations in Northwest Oregon, and they have determined that there are links between four cases: Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Real," the DA wrote.
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"Investigators have interviewed multiple people in connection with these cases and have identified at least one person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents. Based on the available information to investigators, there is not believed to be any active danger to the community at this time.
"The cause and manner of death in each case remains undetermined by the Oregon State Medical Examiner," the agency concluded.
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