A career criminal being eyed in the grisly murders of four Oregon women in 2022 had his sentence cut short and released early due to concerns over COVID-19 spreading behind bars.

Jesse Lee Calhoun, 38, was among about 1,000 inmates granted clemency by Democratic former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown as fears over the spread of the pandemic swept through the nation, the Willamette Week reported. However, by 2022, it was clear that COVID was not a real risk for young, healthy individuals. Calhoun has: “a long record of felony convictions dating to 2004. After arresting him in 2018 with meth, several guns, and more than 500 rounds of ammunition, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office called him a ‘“’prolific thief and career criminal.’”

WW has learned that a Multnomah County man is a suspect in the killings of four of six women found dead earlier this year in the greater Portland metro area.

Several people familiar with ongoing investigations in multiple jurisdictions tell WW that detectives have linked four of the deaths to Jesse Lee Calhoun, whose most recent address is in Portland.

Serial killers are unusual, but Calhoun’s case, according to people familiar with it, may be one of a kind. . . .

Nigel Jaquiss and Lucas Manfield, “Law Enforcement Officials Suspect a Multnomah County Man Released Early From Prison Is a Serial Killer,” WIllamette Week, July 17, 2023.