Jesse Calhoun Faces Consolidated Trial for Five Second-Degree Murder Charges
Accused serial killer Jesse Calhoun pleaded not guilty to a fifth charge of second-degree murder in the death of Ashley Real. The prosecutors are seeking to consolidate five homicide cases into a single trial. Real's body was found in a pond in Clackamas County in May 2023. Calhoun also faces four existing second-degree murder charges in the deaths of Charity Perry, Joanna Speaks, Bridget Webster, and Kristin Smith, along with four counts of abuse of a corpse. Investigators had previously identified Calhoun as a person of interest in Real's death. The defense team requested to cancel the current trial date, which was set for 2027, to accommodate the new charge. A status conference is scheduled for August to discuss new trial dates and the possibility of combining all five cases into one proceeding. Calhoun, who was arrested in 2023 on unrelated charges, has pleaded not guilty to all five murder charges.