AN accused serial killer charged with the murders of five women has been indicted in the death of a sixth victim.

Jesse Calhoun, 41, was charged with first-degree manslaughter related to Elizabeth “Libby” Gibson’s death, who disappeared from the Portland area in November 2022, prosecutors in Oregon announced.

Suspected serial killer Jesse Calhoun was indicted with the death of a sixth woman

Prosecutors believe Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Gibson was Calhoun’s first victim

Multnomah County prosecutors believe Gibson, 32, was Calhoun’s first victim.

Calhoun is already facing charges for the murders of Kristin Smith, 22, Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leanne Webster, 31, Joanna Speaks, 32, and Ashley Real, 22.

All five women disappeared between December 2022 and March 2023, investigators said.

He has pleaded not guilty to five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of second-degree abuse of a corpse.

Gibson’s friends first reported her missing in March 2023, and it was only recently that investigators gathered evidence linking Calhoun to her death.

Officials have not established the exact timeline of when Gibson went missing or a cause of death.

However, Portland officials believe Gibson was killed on or about November 18, 2022.

Prosecutors read a statement on behalf of Gibson’s family at a press conference on Wednesday, where they announced the new charges against Calhoun.

“Our family is grateful that a definitive step towards justice is finally being taken for our sister, Libby,” the statement read.

“Libby was kind, creative and silly. She welcomed everyone with love and acceptance.

“Her future was taken from her way too soon. We are deeply appreciative of the tireless work and dedication of the law enforcement officers and of the District Attorney’s Office, whose efforts have helped bring us to this point.”

Lisa Shaw, Gibson’s childhood friend, remembered her friend as a “true light in this world.”

“Just to hear that it’s a for sure thing, to hear that she’s never coming back, for sure she’s gone, it’s just really heartbreaking,” Shaw told Fox affiliate KPTV.

“It’s really sad. She was a really special person.”

The deaths sparked fear across Oregon in 2023 after the remains of several women under 40 were found within months of each other

Ashley Real vanished in March 2023 and her remains were found two months later in a pond in Clackamas County

Kristin Smith went missing in November 2022 and her remains were discovered months later in a wooded area in Multnomah County in February 2023

Charity Lynn Perry was one of three women found across April 2023

Shaw said Gibson became homeless sometime in 2019 and reached out to her for assistance.

“I can’t think of a single thing that she could have done that someone would have wanted to end her life over,” she told ABC affiliate KATU.

“She had called me, and she was really struggling, and she wanted to, like, get off the streets, but she didn’t know how, and I didn’t know how to help her, and I was really struggling at the time.

“I wanted to help her. She was my friend, but I didn’t know how, and you know, looking back, if I had known that this was how her life was gonna end up, I would have done anything I could have to get her out of that situation.”

Loren Diaz said she was at a loss for words when she learned about her friend Gibson’s death.

“When I found out about her situation, I was shocked,” Diaz told KPTV.

“A loss for words really. Someone who has so much light now gone.

“I pray every day that her family can get justice and closure for the gap in their hearts and family.”

Calhoun has an extensive criminal history that dates back to a 2019 conviction for which he served a four-year sentence for assaulting a police officer, attempting to strangle a police dog, and burglary.

He was released early in 2021 after his sentence was commuted for helping fight Oregon wildfires in 2020 under a prison firefighting program.

Calhoun was arrested on an unrelated parole warrant in June 2023 before initially being charged with the murders of Perry, Webster, and Speaks in 2024.

He is expected to be arraigned on Monday on new charges related to Gibson’s death.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/17024601/suspected-portland-serial-killer-jesse-calhoun-charged-sixth-death/