PORTLAND, Oregon — While investigators have said they have a person of interest in the deaths of four women in Portland, they have yet to reveal when they identified that person and how they connected the cases.
News outlets named Jesse Lee Calhoun as the person suspected in the killings, with Willamette Week the first to identify Calhoun as a suspected "serial killer," citing law enforcement sources.
Since then, a timeline of events surrounding Calhoun's criminal past and the deaths of Kristin Smith, Charity Perry, Bridget Webster and Ashley Real have sparked questions about when detectives connected the investigations. To date, charges have yet to be filed in connection to the four death investigations.
On June 4, Portland Police released a statement saying the bureau had "no reason to believe" the deaths of the women were connected at that time. PPB also said it was "in contact with law enforcement partners" to consider links.
Just two days later, Clackamas County deputies arrested Calhoun on parole violations. His commuted sentence was later revoked and Calhoun is now serving time in state prison.
Dr. Christopher Mercado, a retired NYPD lieutenant and adjunct assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said the timing of the release raises valid questions.
"To see no connection and then a couple days later there is a connection, then it almost looks to the public like, well, did you know and hide the information or are you incompetent and not communicating," Mercado said. "Both of which don't fare well for the executives in charge that now have to explain to the public what you have, who you are looking at as responsible for these cases, and how these cases are going to be prosecuted."
Mercado said it is possible that new information developed in the 24-48 hours after PPB's initial release. However, PPB didn't acknowledge any connections in the cases until about six weeks later, through a joint press release with the Multnomah County District Attorney's office in response to a media request.
"At some point you will have to explain what decisions were made and why," Mercado said. "So if something did happen in the investigation as far as public reporting that now could be perceived as a misstep, explain that away. Legitimately say, look, we were erring on the side of caution."
PPB declined to answer KGW's questions about the June 4 release and the why it chose to release that statement at the time, despite the involvement of at least nine law enforcement agencies in pursuing the death investigations of multiple women.
For its part, PPB said on June 4 that it was receiving "widespread questions and concerns" about death investigations throughout the region, acknowledging a desire to address "speculation" in the community.
"Police departments don't really want to alarm the public, but they have this awesome responsibility of having to weigh alarmism with public information and awareness," Mercado said. "A lot of times in these situations, which I understand are frustrating to the public, less information is better for an investigation because it gives [investigators] time and flexibility."
A PPB spokesperson said the Multnomah County DA's office is handling all media requests in association with the now-linked death investigations, including questions on when PPB learned about the person of interest in relation to its June 4 release.