Jesse Calhoun did not speak during the brief arraignment hearing Wednesday in Portland. His attorney entered the not-guilty plea on his behalf. Calhoun now faces five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of abuse of a corpse, according to court filings.
The charge involving Ashley Real, 22, is the latest added to a case that already includes the killings of Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. Real’s body was discovered in a pond in Clackamas County in May 2023. The other victims’ remains were found in Oregon, except for Speaks, whose body was discovered in an abandoned barn in southwestern Washington, according to reports.
Masciell Real, Ashley Real’s sister, attended the hearing and spoke afterward. “I think being in that courtroom today and being able to see him, and know that he is behind bars now, it takes the weight off my shoulders knowing that he isn’t around and free to cause any harm to any other women out there,” she said.
The victim’s father, Jose Real, told the Associated Press last year that his daughter came to his Portland home in November 2022 crying and said Calhoun had choked her. He said she had marks on her throat and that he took her to a hospital.
Melissa Smith, the mother of Kristin Smith, was also present Wednesday. “We’ve all experienced the worst thing that could ever happen to you, and it’s incredibly hard to see one of the other families hurt the way we do,” she said.
Prosecutors said at a press briefing after the hearing that they plan to try Calhoun for all five murders in one trial, rather than conducting separate proceedings. The trial is expected to begin next year.
Calhoun was arrested in June 2023 on unrelated parole warrants and was indicted in May 2024 in the deaths of three of the women. He was charged in August 2024 with the murder of Smith, two and a half years after her remains were found. At the time, Calhoun was nearing the end of a four-year sentence in state prison for assaulting a police officer, trying to strangle a police dog, burglary and other charges.
He had been released early in 2021 after helping fight wildfires in 2020 as part of a prison firefighting program. Oregon Governor Tina Kotek revoked that commutation in 2023 when police began investigating him in connection with the deaths.