Charity Lynn Perry, a 24-year-old woman from Longview, Washington, was known to frequent the downtown Portland, Oregon, area. Her life was tragically cut short in the spring of 2023, one of several deaths that would spark fear of a serial killer in the region. Her mother, Diana Allen, remembers her daughter's struggles with mental health and addiction, a battle that ultimately left her vulnerable. "This hurts so bad," Allen shared.
"My daughter had such bad mental health issues, and any hope of her getting better is gone. It's gone now, and a horrid ache replaced it.”
Charity was last seen in downtown Portland in early March 2023. According to her mother, a painful sequence of events unfolded around that time. Allen believes Charity was hospitalized for a drug overdose on March 6, 2023. Prosecutors later stated they believe she was killed on or around March 8, just two days later. The timing has been a source of immense pain for her mother. "The timing of when she was in the hospital, a safe place, and then killed, that's got to be really hard to process," Allen said, adding that knowing the timeline "releases some of the guilt."
For weeks, Charity's whereabouts were unknown. The agonizing wait for answers ended on April 24, 2023, when her body was discovered in a culvert near Ainsworth State Park, about 35 miles from where she was last seen. The discovery was part of a disturbing pattern; between February and May of that year, the remains of six women were found in and around the Portland metropolitan area, sparking widespread alarm. Initially, the Portland Police Bureau stated they had no reason to believe the cases were connected, but that assessment would soon change.
As investigators looked for commonalities, a person of interest emerged: Jesse Lee Calhoun. Calhoun had a criminal history and had been released from prison about a year early in 2021 after his sentence was commuted by the governor for his work as a volunteer firefighter. He was arrested on a parole violation in June 2023 as the investigation into the women's deaths intensified. By July, authorities publicly announced that the deaths of at least four women, including Charity, were linked and that they had a person of interest in custody.
In May 2024, a grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun, then 39, on charges of second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse for the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, Bridget Leanne Webster, and Joanna Speaks. Over time, Calhoun would be indicted in the deaths of three other women: Kristin Smith, Ashley Real, and Elizabeth "Libby" Gibson, bringing the total number of alleged victims to six. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial.
Throughout the painful legal process, Charity's mother, Diana Allen, has been a constant presence, attending nearly every court hearing. She has become a voice for her daughter and the other victims, seeking accountability and answers. While the wait for justice has been frustrating, she expressed a level of respect for the investigators' dedication. "It's been very, very frustrating for us families not to have answers," Allen said at a news conference. "But... the investigators cared more about justice for Charity than they did for my feelings. I have to have a level of respect for that.”
The case remains in the court system as the families of Charity Perry and the other victims await a trial. The investigation brought to light a series of tragedies that shook communities across northwest Oregon and southwest Washington. For Diana Allen, the legal proceedings are a crucial step toward closure, a long and arduous journey she endures in memory of her daughter.
