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In the period between when Gov. Kate Brown granted Jesse Lee Calhoun early release from prison and the series of deaths that have led to his identification as a possible serial killer, Calhoun at least twice allegedly exhibited behavior that conflicted with the terms of his release.
On one of those occasions, the alleged target was Ashley Real, a woman later found dead in Clackamas County.
As WW reported earlier, Calhoun was serving time for a series of 2019 convictions when he joined other adults in custody on a team fighting wildfires in 2020. Brown commuted the sentences of 41 of those inmate-firefighters, including Calhoun’s, allowing them to leave prison up to 12 months early. But the terms of their release required the inmates to obey all laws.
On at least two occasions, someone alleged, Calhoun had not.
The first instance is better documented at this hour. On May 16, 2022, a Clackamas man named Craig Wangrud filed a petition for a stalking order against Calhoun in Clackamas County Circuit Court. According to the application, Wangrud and Calhoun clashed over Calhoun’s spending time with Wangrud’s former domestic partner, Krista Sinor, who is also the mother of Wangrud’s children.
In an April 29, 2022, text message, according to Wangrud’s complaint, Calhoun admitted to following him and threatened him in a series of text messages.
“I know everything about you dude, everywhere you go. What you do,” Calhoun allegedly wrote in a text message. “Stop fucking with Krista, dude. I’m going to tell you this only once.”
In a later message, Calhoun wrote, “you are a fucking ideit [sic] that can’t get over Krista and ruining her life and I’m here to say that won’t be happening much longer. Put that on God.”
In another message, Calhoun wrote, “you are a cocky ignorant sonaofabitch that will always get yours when the time is right.”
Wangrud wrote in his stalking order application that he was familiar with Calhoun’s criminal record and feared him. “He has a history of carrying out violent person-to-person crimes including the assault of a police officer. Threatened me. Admitted to stalking me while he is still on parole in Multnomah County.” (A Clackamas County judge dismissed the application for the stalking order on May 17.)
There is a second record, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation—an allegation of domestic violence filed with the Portland Police Bureau in November 2022 and later referred to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
That complaint, according to people familiar with the investigation, was filed by Ashley Real, who was later found dead May 7 in Clackamas County. She is one of four women whose deaths have been linked by investigators. Calhoun is suspected of killing all four.
Because of the pending criminal investigation into Calhoun, police are not releasing any reports related to his prior history, including the one filed by Real.
The significance of Calhoun’s being named in two records prior to the women’s deaths is that he was under post-incarceration supervision in both instances, so either could have led to sanctions, including revocation of his release. That would have sent him back to prison. The Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, which was responsible for supervising Calhoun after his release, has said Calhoun violated the terms of his post-prison supervision, which led to his June 6 arrest, but has rejected WW’s request to see his file, citing the pending criminal investigation. It’s unclear if Real’s complaint made its way from police to the Department of Community Justice.
As WW first reported earlier this week, Calhoun is being held at Snake River Correctional Institution in Eastern Oregon on a parole violation. Gov. Tina Kotek revoked his commutation July 3.
The Portland Police Bureau referred questions about the domestic violence report to the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, which declined comment, citing the pending criminal investigation. Kotek’s office provided the same response.