A YOUNG woman told police she had been strangled and attacked months before she vanished, and now prosecutors say her alleged attacker killed her.

Ashley Real, 22, disappeared in March 2023 before her body was found the following month in a pond.

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Ashley Real, 22, disappeared in March 2023, her body was later in the Eagle Creek area in May 2023Credit: Family Handout
 

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Jesse Lee Calhoun, 41 has been indicted for murdering three women, and his connection to three more killings is under investigationCredit: AP
Jesse Lee Calhoun, 41, the man accused in a string of killings across the Portland, Oregon, area, has now been charged with her murder.

The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office announced that Calhoun is facing a new second-degree murder allegation in Real’s death.

Real’s killing had long been linked to Calhoun, but he had not previously been charged in the case.

Authorities have already accused him of killing four other women: Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Webster, 31, JoAnna Speaks, 32, and Kristin Smith, 22.

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Prosecutors said Real told police in November 2022 that Calhoun had strangled and assaulted her.

Her father, Jose Real Jimenez, previously said he called Portland police after his daughter showed up crying at his home.

Real allegedly told her family that Calhoun assaulted her, tried to strangle her, and took her cellphone.

Her parents then took her to Adventist Health Portland for treatment, where they stayed for several hours, her father said.

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Months later, Real disappeared.

Real had last been seen on March 27, 2023, at a fast-food restaurant on Southeast Division in Portland.

Her remains were later found in the Eagle Creek area, east of Barton and south of Boring, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

At the time, detectives said her death was suspicious and asked the public to report anything unusual they may have seen in the area between late March and early May.

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The deaths sparked fear across Oregon in 2023 after the remains of several women under 40 were found within months of each other
 

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Real’s mother Maria Trinidad Jimenez thanked detectives for staying on the caseCredit: Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office
Authorities have not said what new information allegedly linked Calhoun to Real’s killing.

The grand jury in the case met most recently last Thursday before the new indictment was announced, Oregon Live reported.

District Attorney Nathan Vasquez called the charge “a long time coming.”

“The scope of this case is massive and our commitment to prosecuting this case, for each and every victim, is absolute,” Vasquez said.

Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero called the indictment “a significant moment” in the long-running probe.

“We can’t undo the horrors, we can’t undo what happened to them, but we can continue to do everything we can to provide closure, information, peace and a sense of justice,” Marrero said.

Real’s parents, who spoke through a Spanish interpreter, thanked detectives for staying on the case.

“There were moments when I thought this day would never come,” Real’s mother, Maria Trinidad Jimenez, said.

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Charity Lynn Perry was one of three women found across April 2023Credit: Facebook
 

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Joanna Speaks, 32, was found on April 8. Calhoun was charged with her murder in May 2024Credit: gofundme / Ariel Hamby and Robyn Speaks
“I thank God for this.”

Real’s father said his family never gave up hope that his daughter’s case would move forward.

“No matter how long it took us to get to the point that we are now, we continued to hold on to hope and trusted that one day Ashley would receive the justice that she deserves,” Jose Real Jimenez said.

Real’s younger sister, Masciell Real, 17, described her as “a beautiful soul who caused no harm to anyone.”

“She had a big impact despite her small body,” she said.

“She was brave, loving, funny, and a type of person who could make anyone smile, even during difficult times.”

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Bridget Webster, 31, was found that same month, however, police have kept quiet about the detailsCredit: The Polk County Sheriff’s Office
 

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Kristin Smith, 22, was found on February 19, 2023. Calhoun was charged with her murder in August 2025Credit: Portland Police Bureau
The new charge comes after Calhoun was already accused of murdering Perry, Webster, Speaks, and Smith.

Smith’s partial remains were found in February 2023 in a field in southeast Portland.

Authorities allege she was killed around November 20, 2022.

Calhoun pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and second-degree abuse of a corpse in Smith’s death.

He has also pleaded not guilty in the other murder cases.

The deaths sparked fear across Oregon in 2023 after the remains of several women under 40 were found within months of each other.

Speaks’ body was found near an abandoned barn in Ridgefield, Washington, about 20 miles north of Portland.

Perry’s body was discovered in a culvert near Ainsworth State Park, about 35 miles east of Portland.

Webster’s remains were found near a creek in Polk County, about 70miles southwest of Portland.

Investigators initially worked to quiet public fears that a serial killer was on the loose.

Calhoun was arrested in June 2023 on an unrelated parole warrant before murder charges followed the next year.

His criminal history stretches back more than two decades.

His record includes allegations and convictions tied to assault, harassment, burglary, kidnapping, and driving a stolen car.

In 2008, he pleaded guilty to an assault charge after an arrest that had also included kidnapping and assault allegations.

The kidnapping allegation was dropped as part of a plea agreement.

In 2019, Calhoun was sentenced to a little more than four years in prison after convictions including burglary, assaulting a public safety officer, and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

He was also accused of trying to choke a police K9.

But he did not serve his full sentence.

Calhoun was among 41 prisoners whose sentences were commuted by then-Gov. Kate Brown after they helped fight deadly Oregon wildfires in 2020.

He was released in 2022.

Months later, he had fresh interactions with police, including an allegation that he smashed a woman’s car window with a large stick.

In 2023, Gov. Tina Kotek rescinded Calhoun’s commutation as investigators zeroed in on the killings.

Calhoun is now being held in Multnomah County jail.

He is represented by public defenders Cameron Taylor and Shelley Aschenbrenner, who did not respond to a request for comment.

His murder trial is not expected to begin until 2027.