The official and unofficial story of 5 women murdered in Portland

Here is the latest, after nearly one year since the first girl disappeared.

Did you know women engaged in prostitution whether consensual, under the influence of a substance, or against their will are 60-100 times more likely to be murdered? That is a the statistic you can Google for yourself, but some experts state it is as high as 200%.

We have reached the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 22 year old Kristin Smith who disappeared days before Christmas. Her mother last saw her November 19th of last year.  She was the first of 5 female victims who disappeared and whose bodies were dumped in wooded areas throughout the Portland metro area. 

All along we have known Joann Speaks, whose body was found in Ridgefield, WA, was related to the murders of Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Ashley Real, and Bridget Webster’s murders. The hunch was immediate to anyone who had a pulse on what was happening on the streets of Portland.  Shortly after we insisted the murders were connected, a PDX Real follower sent us the facebook friends list of several young men who were “friends” with 4 out of 5 girls. Another follower with a family member at Father’s Heart, a shelter in Clackamas County, hosted two of the girls before they disappeared. Two of the girls also attended high school together and met again on the streets. What else did the girls have in common? They all struggled with drug use, hung out with same groups of men, and their families suspected they were caught up in human trafficking. I believe them and you should too.

Kristin Smith

Kristin’s mother, Melissa Smith who was close to her daughter described to me earlier this year the changes in Kristin’s life once she had a new boyfriend named Justice Jones. Kristin lived with her Mom at the time, and started staying with Justice overnight picking up clothes for extended stays. She eventually moved out to live with Justice. She was after all over 18. Melissa worked hard to keep communication lines open with her daughter. It is a matter of record that Kristin filed a restraining order against Justice (who also goes by JJ and Jay on east Portland’s streets) after he choked and beat her. The details remain fuzzy, but the restraining order process was dismissed. Eventually, Kristin Smith (who also went by Kristin Reedus on Facebook) wasn’t living with her mother, or with her new boyfriend, she was on the streets.

Justice has a lot of equally unsavory friends who spend time on the streets with young girls. According to many witnesses, criminal records and stories, I can tell you he and his friends boost cars (slang for stealing), sell parts for profit, hang out in the same hotspot areas of east Portland each day, deal and consume drugs, and provide for their most valuable capital: GIRLS. They appear to provide mind control, a watchful eye and essentials, and from what I have gathered pass the girls around the posse humiliating them in the process. Kristin’s mother Melissa described to me the cocktail of abuse, manipulation, and drugs that made it nearly impossible to rescue her daughter from the clutches of men who she feels turned her daughter onto Portland’s streets. Some of us call these men pimps. Call it whatever helps you sleep.

I live in east Portland and Jesse and his friends hang out nearby at specific spots I frequent. I don’t forget these girls were in my neighborhood in plain site but invisible. I got a message from a follower in subsidized housing a few months ago when Jesse was in her apartment complex near Mall 205. A friend of the group threatened a neighbor after she protested their break in of an abandoned home they were using as a trap house for prostitution and drugs. The knowledge of what is happening on Portland’s streets makes me ill some days. I have no idea if detectives have questioned Justice and his friends, or what part if any they played in the girls deaths, but I can assure police know these connections. Talking with detectives is a one way conversation. We wait for answers.

Let’s not sugar coat the dangers of prostitution and let’s stop acting like this is willful. Vulnerable women on the streets are being trafficked and if they aren’t using their captors make sure they are hooked. Just. like. the. movies.

Everyone in the know, knows: the street thugs of all levels in the crime ring, the homeless community, the police and trafficking unit, the elected officials, the neighbors who see it out their front doors, the families of the victims, and people like you and I opening our eyes. If you are one of the few in Portland living in a bubble prior to this moment, don’t say anymore you don’t know. I told you. It is in your city and it is wildly profitable. It is a black market economy in your hometown built upon addicted, desperate women who have lost their will to do anything but agree to sexual acts for drugs. Drugs that are lab made and more addictive than any substance the world has ever known in it’s history. Girls enslave themselves to unbelievable dangers not for money, but for more drugs and protection from the worst of sexual predators that this black market lures and brings out of the dark.

Melissa says she would often find her daughter on the streets and ask “Can I at least take you to dinner” while a nearby man or two eavesdropped. Kristin often accepted, but Melissa wasn’t able to convince her daughter to change course. Kristin often would lose her cell phone too, so Kristin gave Melissa “4-5 spots” she could be found on any given day. Last year after Thanksgiving, Kristin wasn’t answering texts or calls. Melissa visited the regular hangout spots. As is the case with a family member addicted to substance on the streets, family members are often not sure if their loved ones are missing. But Melissa says she was close to her daughter in spite of the circumstances and she knew something was very wrong. Her suspicion grew as the days turned into weeks. A missing person’s report was filed 3 days before Christmas.

Kristin was the first victim to be found in a wooded area in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood on February 19th. The other girls bodies were found outside of Portland in what is described as wooded areas as well. Joanna Speaks was the only victim found in Washington and her manner of death was the only one published by law enforcement - blunt injuries to both her head and neck. Unofficially, I can tell you all the girls had similar injuries.

Last Spring shortly after the girls bodies were found, we began to connect them. We made so much noise PPB responded. At that time and to this day, our city hasn’t warned the public at large, or noted to the public there is a danger especially for vulnerable young women on the streets. Instead they stated these cases didn’t appear to be related. (Sometime later, the girls' murders were acknowledged officially as related.  Except for JoAnn Speaks that is. ) 

I responded with this video online with the following caption.

It was insanely irresponsible and dangerous for the Portland police to indicate the 6 female murders in the portland metro are not connected. Jeff and I are in receipt of significant information and we are angry and scared that this investigation isn’t being taken seriously. As a reminder, 3 of the girls knew one another, all were transient, and all had ties to drugs.
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I can tell you from multiple sources at PDX Real, Portland has organized groups trafficking women, and paying them with drugs. We have stories of unthinkable trauma women have suffered. Portland - we should assume this is organized, dangerous and serious. The city of Portland is out of line for not warning vulnerable, profoundly ill women in our city.

Yes, like all of us, trafficked girls have cell phones. It is also one tool pimps use keep tabs on them. I am told by the human trafficking division, when you see them on their phones while street soliciting, you can be sure those conversations are with their captors who are nearby. Incidentally, screen time is also often their reward after a long day of abuse, or “sex work” if that is still what we are calling this. I adamantly believe we are overlooking human trafficking and we should be combatting this black market by educating the public, families, and girls with public service announcements in schools and foster care. We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge.

We act as if all of this is isolated and someone else will do something. The victims families of the 5 girls for the most part gave the police the benefit of the doubt. Some of the families eventually started looking for answers and doing their own investigative work. Ariel, Joanna half sister has been a strong voice for her sister and the other family members. She is fierce, unwavering and righteous. The first time I spoke with Ariel she was pretty angry at me online for making up stories about the case. I understood her anger as I have sisters of my own. Our relationship improved when information I disclosed became official. She apologized and realized my heart was in the work for the right reasons. Today she and I share findings back and forth with one another in hopes of finding and holding accountable all the players involved.

Like her sister, Joanna Speaks was strong and outspoken. Joanna and Ariel’s family have a history of substance abuse. When sober Joanna was reportedly the best aspects of herself. Joanna’s meth addition led to many arrests, and eventually a more serious dark charge as an accomplice in a kidnapping that landed her to serving hard time, Speaks Kidnapping Case. Ariel, Joanna’s younger sister has been raising JoAnn’s 3 young children since that time and still today. Much like other members of the family who had eventually gone into lifelong drug recovery, the family hoped Joanna would eventually sober for the long term. Her children needed, loved and missed their Mama. Ariel maintains Joanna was a meth addict and had no interest in Fentanyl. She describes were has hardheaded and “she didn’t take shit from anyone.” Joanna was open about her prostitution to her sisters, and during one poignant moment before her death she openly told them she didn’t want anyone taking a cut anymore, as she wanted to be an independent sex worker making her own money.

On the 18^th of November, 8 months after Joann’s body was found, her case was transferred to Detective Pontius in Portland, who is also the detective for Kristin Smith.  PPB announced they believe based on evidence, JoAnn was killed in Portland and her body was moved to Ridgefield.  PPB officially announced on November 27th the correlation between the death of Joanna and the other girls.

It is important to many in the community that these vulnerable women are not only not forgotten, they are not further victimized by slow, careless police and prosecution work. I have no reason from recent cases and experiences to believe our inadequate and inexperienced detectives have the chops to tackle this case.

The police force is spending more than ever thanks in part to overtime from inadequate sworn officers. We don’t have a vice squad anymore in Portland, it was disbanded some time ago. The human trafficking unit in Portland has 7 people. They focus on building relationships, work sting operations identifying and arresting Johns and Pimps. One recent sting netted several arrests of Johns and Pimps. Guess how many served time? How many do you think are still engaged in this activity weeks later? The truth is our prosecutor’s office at Mike Schmidt’s direction doesn’t want to prosecute this type of crime. (In this case, elections have deadly consequences. Vote for Nathan Vasquez for district attorney and Will Lathrop for attorney general this May) Personnel in the local human trafficking unit isn’t adequate either. The unit says they rely on tips from citizens, but the public doesn’t appear to even have the ability to identify it.

Let’s get one Portland myth out of the way. Contrary to public opinion, women who engage in sex work haven’t been arrested or charged in decades.

Parallel to the police investigation of the five girls, many concerned citizens and family members have shared information for months.  We know this leads to the darkest places of humanity. Beyond who killed these girls, a growing appetite is underway of sickos who get off on strangulation, violence, humiliation and even death. The stories circulate in our community and often have no victim name or trace to guilty parties. But this isn’t an urban myth I assure you. It is happening. The dark operation is counting on you to not pay attention to addicts who are victimized. These women have no voice, they are often missing or off the grid by their families, and they are coerced and manipulated with force, coercion, and a type of stockholm syndrome. Most of the city of Portland has accepted this evil as choice.

Jesse Calhoun a person of interest in the case, was arrested over the summer for a parole violation and placed back into custody.  We have former Governor who released more prisoners for clemency than any other governor in our states history to acknowledge. We don’t know yet what evidence exactly led police to Jesse, but we can tell you he definitely knew some, if not all, of the girls. His live in girlfriend, who has battled with drug issues herself, found a video of Bridget Webster talking with Jesse topless on this phone. She and Jesse also knew Ashley Real. Bridget was known for having a cat she adored, and Jesse’s girlfriend said in an online interview after Bridget disappeared, Jesse brought home cat food and cat supplies and asked her one day randomly if they could foster a cat. His girlfriend protested and the cat never came to live at their home.

Evidence suggests Jesse traded girls with clientele for money and drugs. His girlfriend says he slept with other women and liked to choke her during sex. She says even when she realized he knew some of the missing girls, she just couldn’t believe he was involved. Jesse boosted cars as his extensive criminal record suggests, however he does not have violent history on his criminal record. We have heard from sources that investigators are confirming DNA evidence in hopes of leading back to Jesse, but as the weeks have turned to months, we have yet to hear anything official. Still, no charges have been filed.  Family members suspect Jesse acted with others who knew and were controlling their daughters. We can confirm Jesse knows many of these circles of men. Did something go wrong that was covered up and silenced?

The girls and their stories are not isolated. They are victims to a drug positive city that pretends living on the streets and performing sex acts is a lifestyle choice. Were the girls banding together to leave? Were they planning to expose something they all knew about? Were they all victims to the same lone perverted customer? Someone like Jesse Calhoun? Rumors circulate that one of the women was an informant. Would the police tell us that?

I have spoken with many people in the public who are in disbelief there is a market for sex with women who are homeless and on fentanyl. They are naive. Sex trafficking is big business. There is no cost of goods sold for selling a girl, it is nearly all profit. The women lives on the streets, she sleeps where she works for the night, and drugs are relatively inexpensive. The occassional needed healthcare, condoms, narcan, needles, pipes and foil are free from the government at a number of locations in east Portland alone. Girls aren’t in control of their own money or time. There are dire consequences for pocketing any of the money from a shift. The pimp provides clothes, shoes and essentials for the woman. Everyone gets their cut from the pimp, to those who own the property, trailers, tents, motels or RVs, to the Johns getting a relatively low cost sexual act.

I believe these girls were part of an organized network who recruited and lured them and who profited from their compromised state of mind and addiction to drugs. We have traced friends list, hangouts, witness stories, and social media accounts.  We feel there is more than reasonable proof there was more than Jesse Calhoun involved in these murders, or if he was the only one certainly more need charged for leading these girls to slaughter. With or without Jessie Calhoun on the streets, this profitable and twisted ring continues on our streets as I type.  The abuse of vulnerable women on our streets in Portland is horrifying.

As the investigation lingers on, our city's incapability to conduct a thorough investigation and prosecution haunts me.  As I mentioned before, our police bureau is understaffed, they lack a seasoned workforce, and that workforce includes detectives who by the way are still working from home. And don’t get me started on the shitshow of Mike Schmidt not following through on the prosecution of thousands of cases in Multnomah County.  I have serious doubts this case is being handled with the alacrity and precision it deserves.  Did you follow our stories of the Perch Tavern bartender, Elisabeth in North Portland who robbed with a machete, or Emily who had Mercury poured on her vehicle in SE Portland?  In both cases, these victims and this community identified and found their own attackers without the police investigation, turned over the information to authorities, followed up multiple times to police, sargents and district attorney contacts, and months later the police and prosecutor’s office have yet to question, make arrests or charge these attackers. No movement. Just lip service.

The families of the victims of Kristin, Charity, Ashley, Bridget, and JoAnna very much want justice for these women.  It has been nearly a year.  After a generous contribution from a local Good Samaritan, the families are offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person or persons involved with the murders of these 5 women.  Please step forward if you know anything. Choose light and do the right thing.  The phone number and email posted on this flyer go directly to the victim’s families, not the police. They also have a facebook page here.

Stay safe out there,

Angela