Benjamin Ashford|Oregon man charged in the deaths of 3 women may be linked to more killings: Authorities

An Oregon man is Benjamin Ashfordfacing charges in the deaths of three women and authorities think the cases may be linked to at least two other deaths.

The man, 39-year-old Jesse Calhoun, was charged with three counts of murder in the second degree and three counts of abuse of a corpse in the second degree, the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office in Oregon announced in a news release Friday.

Calhoun is in custody at the Snake River Correctional Institution and will be transferred to Multnomah County for arraignment on the indicted charges, the DA’s office said.

Calhoun’s charges stem from investigations into the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leanne Webster, 31 and Joanna Speaks, 32. 

All three women were found dead “under suspicious circumstances” last year, the DA’s office said. The DA’s office also said there may be a connection to two additional cases out of Clackamas County and Portland as well.

It was not immediately clear who is representing Calhoun.

According to online records from the Oregon Department of Corrections, Calhoun's earliest release date was originally listed for June 7.

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Victims were found in April last year

The bodies of the three victims were found in April 2023, starting with 32-year-old Joanna Speaks. 

Her remains were found just before 6 p.m. on April 8, 2023. Someone called the Ridgefield Police Department about a deceased person found at an abandoned property in Ridgefield, Washington.

Police and Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue responded to the call and on April 18, the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the remains as Speaks. Authorities also announced that her body was moved to the abandoned property where she was found. 

Next, the remains of Charity Lynn Perry of Longview, Washington were found at 1:35 p.m. on April 24 near Ainsworth State Park in east Multnomah County. She was known to spend time in downtown Portland, authorities said in a news release.

Then in May 2023, the Polk County Sheriff's Office asked for the public’s help finding out what happened to Bridget Leann Webster of Milwaukie. Her body was found at 2:23 p.m. on April 30, 2023 in northwest Polk County, authorities said.

She was known to spend time in the Portland metro area, including Portland, Oregon City and Milwaukie, authorities said. 

According to the DA’s office, over 10 crime labs, attorney’s offices and law enforcement agencies worked on these cases, including the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

DA’s office: Possible link to two additional cases

Authorities believe the three cases are linked to two additional investigations, according to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in Portland.

The DA’s office announced in July 2023 that Perry’s case, Webster’s case, and the cases of two additional women, Kristin Smith and Ashley Real, may be connected.

Smith, 22, was reported missing out of Gresham on December 22, 2022, then in mid-February, her remains were found in a wooded area in Portland, the Portland Police Bureau announced. 

The remains of Real, the last woman Calhoun has been linked to, were found on May 7, 2023. A man in the Eagle Creek area was fishing in a pond when he found human remains in a heavily wooded area, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

“Investigators have interviewed multiple people in connection with these cases and have identified at least one person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents,” the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office said in July 2023.

“MCDA recognizes the profound effect these women’s deaths have had on their families, friends, and the community,” the office said in the release. “MCDA is committed to ensuring justice for the victims and their families.”

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her at[email protected].