Concerns about COVID-19 spreading among inmates led to the early release of a career criminal who was wanted for the brutal 2022 murders of four women in Oregon.
Death of four women in Oregon, Ashley Real, 22, Bridget Webster, 22, Kristin Smith, and Charity Perry,24 (Source: New York Post)
Clemency Granted to an Inmate
In published news by New York Post, Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, was one of around 1,000 prisoners who received mercy from former Democratic Oregon Governor Kate Brown as concerns about the pandemic grew across the country, according to the Willamette Week. Calhoun was sentenced to prison in 2019 for several felonies, including burglary, possession of a stolen car, assaulting a police officer, and choking a police dog. He was expected to serve his sentence until June 2022.
In connection with the murders of four women this week, Ashley Real, 22, Bridget Webster, 22, Kristin Smith, and Charity Perry,24, Calhoun was named as a person of interest. The deaths of the four women, along with two other suspicious deaths in the Portland metro region, initially raised questions about a serial killer in June.
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The deaths of 4 Women Could Possibly Worked by a Serial Killer
In a joint news release with the participating law enforcement agencies, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office stated that “no charges have been filed against anyone in connection with any of these four death investigations.” In connection with these cases, “investigators have spoken to numerous people and have identified at least one person of interest who is connected to all four of the decedents.”
The former governor, Tina Kotek, initially granted Calhoun an early release; however, she later revoked it and ordered him to be imprisoned. He is currently incarcerated in the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario on new charges that are unconnected to the original ones.
Calhoun has been detained several times since 2004, and in 2009, after being found guilty of assault, a prison sentence was imposed.
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