Suspected Oregon serial killer Jesse Calhoun indicted in death of sixth woman, Elizabeth Gibson: prosecutors

An accused Oregon serial killer facing murder charges in the deaths of five women is suspected of killing a sixth, prosecutors said.

Jesse Calhoun, 41, has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in the death of 32-year-old Portland resident Elizabeth “Libby” Gibson, according to authorities.

Multnomah County prosecutors announced the charge during a Wednesday, September 16, news conference streamed by KPTV.

Calhoun is suspected of killing Gibson in November 2022, authorities said. She was not reported missing until a few months later, in March 2023.

Ahead of Gibson’s death, friends said that she had gone through personal struggles and was unhoused, according to The Oregonian.

“It truly breaks my heart that this is how her life ended,” Lisa Shaw, a friend who said she knew Gibson since middle school, told the outlet.

“Our family is grateful that a definitive step towards justice is finally being taken for our sister, Libby,” Gibson’s siblings said in a statement read by the prosecutors.

Law enforcement officials have accused Calhoun in Gibson’s death, authorities said. But investigators reportedly declined to publicly reveal how they identified him as a suspect during the investigation, according to The Oregonian.

The news of Calhoun’s indictment in connection to Gibson’s death comes a few months after another indictment was announced by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office.

In that case, Calhoun was indicted in the murder of a fifth woman, Ashley Real, according to prosecutors.

The accused man was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly killing Real in March 2023, the district attorney’s office said in a May 26 news release.

Calhoun was previously charged with second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse in the deaths of four other victims, prosecutors said.

Those women were identified as Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Joanna Speaks and Bridget Webster.

Each of the women was reportedly discovered dead in Oregon and Washington between 2022 and 2023.

Calhoun faces murder charges in the deaths of the five women, prosecutors said. But the suspect has pleaded not guilty in relation to all five deaths, per KPTV.

According to The Oregonian, Multnomah County Senior Deputy District Attorney Melissa Marrero said on Wednesday that the women’s loved ones “wanted us to pass on that they stand with Libby’s family, that they stand with the prosecution, and that they will continue to support each other as this case works its way through the system.”

Calhoun’s defense attorneys declined the newspaper’s request for comment.

The defendant is scheduled to stand trial in 2027.

Calhoun is due in court for an arraignment in connection with Gibson’s death on September 21, according to the TV station.