Who Is Jesse Calhoun? Person of Interest Named in Deaths of Four Women

The man reportedly considered a person of interest in the deaths of four women whose bodies were found in Oregon is being held in a state prison again after his commuted prison sentence was reinstated.

Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, is considered a person of interest in the deaths of Kristin Smith, 22, Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leann Webster, 31, and Ashley Real, 22, the Associated Press (AP) and Oregon Live reported. He has not been charged.

Calhoun has been incarcerated at the Snake River Correctional Institution since July 6, according to online records reviewed by Newsweek.

He did not immediately respond to an email sent by the AP through the correctional institution's inmate communication system and it is not clear if he has an attorney representing him.

Calhoun was among 41 inmates who had their sentences commuted by then-Gov. Kate Brown in June 2021 after helping to fight wildfires in 2020. Brown commuted their sentences after determining they did not present unacceptable safety risks to the community.

At the time, Calhoun was serving time for a 2019 conviction on stolen vehicle and burglary charges.

He was released from the Columbia River Correctional Institution on July 22, 2021, Oregon Live reported. The commutation shortened Calhoun's sentence by about a year. Without it, he would have remained in prison until the summer of 2022—several months before the women went missing.

"I am absolutely horrified for the victims, their families, and all those who have experienced these losses," Brown said in a statement to the AP. She could not immediately be reached for further comment.

According to the AP, Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Todd Jackson wrote to Gov. Tina Kotek's office in late June, requesting that Calhoun's commutation be lifted.

"Since his release from custody pursuant to this commutation, Mr. Calhoun has been involved in criminal activity currently under investigation by Oregon law enforcement," Jackson wrote in the June 30 letter.

"In light of this, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office and Multnomah County Department of Community Justice recommends Mr. Calhoun's commutation be revoked," he wrote.

Kotek agreed, and Calhoun was taken back to prison to serve the remaining 11 months of his original prison term. That sentence will end on June 9, 2024, online records show.

The Multnomah County District Attorney's office and other law enforcement agencies working on the case said in a joint statement on Monday that investigators have identified "at least one person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents" and have interviewed multiple people as part of the investigation.

They did not identify Calhoun or reveal why he is considered a person of interest.

The women's bodies were found in wooded areas around Portland between February and May, sparking fears and speculation that the deaths were connected and a serial killer may be on the loose.

Monday's statement said investigators and prosecutors have determined there are links between the cases.

They did not reveal what those links could be, but said that "based on the available information to investigators, there is not believed to be any active danger to the community at this time."

Smith was reported missing on December 22, and her body was found in a wooded area southeast of downtown Portland on February 19. Perry's body was found near Ainsworth State Park in Multnomah County on April 24 after she had been missing for more than a month. Webster's remains were found near a creek in Polk County on April 30. Real's body was found in Clackamas County on May 7, about a month after she was reported missing.

The state medical examiner has not determined the cause or manner of death for any of the women, according to the statement.

Investigators from nine law enforcement agencies, including the prosecutor's offices in three Oregon counties and the Oregon State Police, have been collaborating on the cases, the statement added.

Newsweek has contacted the Multnomah County District Attorney's office and Gov. Tina Kotek's office for comment via email.