Jesse Lee Calhoun Accused in the Deaths of Six Oregon Women as Murder Cases Head Toward Trial

 

Jesse Lee Calhoun Is Accused of Killing Six Women in Oregon

Jesse Lee Calhoun, an Oregon man with a lengthy criminal history, is now facing charges connected to the deaths of six women in the Portland area.

On September 21, 2026, Calhoun appeared in Multnomah County court and pleaded not guilty to the latest charges.

He now faces five counts of second-degree murder along with multiple counts of abuse of a corpse.

The newest indictment also charges Calhoun with first-degree manslaughter in the death of 32-year-old Elizabeth “Libby” Gibson. Gibson is believed to have been killed in November 2022, although her remains have never been found.

The expanding prosecution has forced the court to abandon plans for an earlier trial. Calhoun is now scheduled to face all six cases together in a trial beginning in late 2028.

His case has also drawn scrutiny because of what happened before the killings.

Calhoun had been serving a prison sentence for felony burglary and theft when then-Oregon Governor Kate Brown commuted part of his sentence, resulting in his early release. After his release, the bodies of multiple women began appearing under circumstances investigators later connected to him. Authorities subsequently revoked the commutation and returned him to custody.

That history has generated substantial political controversy, but it should not overshadow the women at the center of these cases.

Calhoun has not been convicted of killing these six women. He has pleaded not guilty, and the charges remain allegations that prosecutors must prove in court.

And “suspected serial killer” is not a conviction either.

Six women are at the center of this prosecution. One of them, Elizabeth “Libby” Gibson, has never even been found. Their lives deserve more space in the record than the fucking nickname eventually attached to the man accused of taking them.