Oregon grand jury indicts Jesse Calhoun in death of sixth woman

Prosecutors plan single trial for all six alleged killings

Calhoun was indicted by a Multnomah County grand jury on the manslaughter charge in Gibson’s death, the Multnomah County district attorney said Wednesday. The indictment alleges Calhoun caused Gibson’s death and acted “unlawfully and recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

Gibson lived in Portland. She was 32 when she was last seen in 2022 and was reported missing the following year. Investigators believe she was killed on or around Nov. 18, 2022, but her remains have not been recovered, according to the district attorney’s office.

The five other women Calhoun is charged with killing were Ashley Real, 22; Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Perry, 24; Bridget Webster, 31; and Joanna Speaks, 32. Those alleged killings occurred between 2022 and 2023. Calhoun has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of abuse of a corpse in those cases.

Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez said in a statement that his office would continue pursuing accountability in each case. “We will not stop. We will do everything in our power to hold him accountable and see that justice is done for each and every one of these victims,” Vasquez said. “We remain committed to these families for as long as it takes.”

Prosecutors said earlier in 2026 that they plan to try Calhoun for all of the alleged murders in one trial rather than holding separate proceedings for each victim.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero said the scope of the investigation had been “enormous.” She credited witnesses who came forward, regardless of how limited their information initially appeared. “But all information is useful,” Marrero said in a statement. “And to the extent that individuals have been willing to come forward in the past and provide information to us, no matter how small, that information has led us to where we are here today.”

Gibson’s siblings said in a statement that they were “grateful that a definitive step toward justice is finally being taken.” They described their sister as “kind, creative, and silly,” saying she “welcomed everyone with love and acceptance” and that “her future was tragically taken from her way too soon.” The family also expressed appreciation for law enforcement officers and the District Attorney’s Office.

Calhoun’s criminal history includes prior convictions for assaulting a police officer, trying to strangle a police dog, burglary and other charges. He was released early from prison in 2021 after participating in a program that sent incarcerated people to fight wildfires, the Guardian reported. Oregon’s governor reversed that early-release decision in 2023 once Calhoun came under investigation for the deaths.