An Oregon man facing charges for the murder of 3 women pleads innocence.
Recently, a grand jury in Oregon accused Jesse Lee Calhoun, aged 39, of three offences of second-degree murder and three instances of abusing a corpse in the second degree, related to the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry (24), Bridget Leanne Webster (31), and Joanna Speaks (32), as announced by the district attorney.
In April 2023, these three women were discovered deceased under suspicious circumstances. Two of them were in Portland, while the third was in a neighbouring Washington region, as per an announcement by Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt.
The specific cause behind their deaths has not been revealed by the authorities. It is also unknown how Calhoun ended up being connected to these deaths. CNN contacted the DA's office to request more information.
Cameron Taylor, Calhoun's lawyer, communicated via email to CNN, stating that his client vehemently denied the charges against him.
A year ago, the authorities in Oregon supposedly believed that the deaths of Perry and Webster were related to the deaths of Kristin Smith and Ashley Real, based on previous CNN reporting. The district attorney's Senior Deputy, Melissa Marrero, mentioned that the investigators are "still very much investigating" these deaths in the past month.
Calhoun attended court in Multnomah County after being relocated from Snake River Correctional Institution in eastern Oregon, where he was held on unrelated charges, according to previous reports.
His upcoming court date is scheduled for July 19.
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Calhoun's lawyer, Cameron Taylor, emphasized to CNN that "us [Calhoun and his legal team] are committed to proving his innocence." During the court proceedings, the prosecution might present evidence to establish a connection between Calhoun and the suspected crimes, aiming to convict "us [Calhoun] of the charges."
