Portland, Oregon – A grand jury is set to convene next week to hear testimonies regarding the murder of Joanna Speaks, one of five women who were discovered dead in the Portland area last year. Detectives believe Speaks, 32, was killed in Portland, although her body was found in an abandoned barn in Ridgefield, Washington in April 2023. The cause of her death was determined to be blunt head and neck injuries by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office, with no arrests made in connection to the case.
Last summer, various news outlets identified Jesse Calhoun as a person of interest in the deaths of multiple women found in wooded or secluded areas around Portland between February and May. Calhoun, who had been released from prison in July 2021 under commutations by Former Governor Kate Brown, was arrested in June 2023 near Milwaukie on active parole board warrants. This led to his commutations being revoked by Gov. Tina Kotek at the request of Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, resulting in Calhoun being returned to prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Despite his claims of innocence, Calhoun remains incarcerated at Snake River Correctional Institution in eastern Oregon on charges unrelated to the women’s deaths. The ongoing investigation has not disclosed publicly how the cases of the women are connected, with at least one person of interest being linked to four victims: Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster, and Ashley Real. The Multnomah County District Attorney’s office has refrained from naming a specific person of interest at this time.
Family members of the victims, like Speaks’ sister, are still grappling with the loss of their loved ones and are not prepared to comment on the latest developments. The upcoming grand jury session is expected to shed more light on the tragic events surrounding the deaths of these women in the Portland area, providing potentially crucial insights to further the investigation and bring justice to the victims and their families.