Joanna Speaks, a 32-year-old mother from Oregon, was a beloved daughter, sister, and friend, described by her family as hilarious, sarcastic, and witty. A mother to two teenage sons and a young daughter, she was the missing piece that completed their family. Her loved ones have shared fond memories of her, remembering her as a "big kid" who brought joy to their lives.
However, in the years leading up to her death, Joanna had been battling addiction and was experiencing homelessness in the Portland area. Her family’s last contact with her was in March 2023, a final communication before a devastating silence.
On April 8, 2023, Joanna’s body was discovered inside an abandoned barn on a remote property in Ridgefield, Washington, about 20 miles north of Portland. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and immediately noted that circumstances were suspicious, with evidence suggesting her body had been moved to that location after her death. The Clark County Medical Examiner later ruled her death a homicide, determining the cause to be blunt force trauma to her head and neck. The violent nature of her death left her family reeling. "It keeps me up at night thinking that whoever did this to her... that is violent, and that person is walking around,” her stepsister, Ariel Hamby, said.
The investigation into Joanna's murder was initially handled by the Clark County Sheriff's Office. However, as detectives gathered information, they found reason to believe the homicide had occurred in Portland. In November 2023, the Portland Police Bureau officially took over the case, a development Joanna's family hoped would lead to answers and a conviction. Her sister, Robyn Speaks, expressed immense gratitude for the tireless work of the Clark County detectives and thanked the public for the outpouring of love and tips that helped move the investigation forward.
Joanna's death was one of several suspicious deaths of women in the Portland metropolitan area between late 2022 and mid-2023, sparking fears of a potential serial killer. Though police initially downplayed connections, investigators eventually identified a person of interest: Jesse Lee Calhoun. Calhoun, a man with a lengthy criminal history, had been released from prison early in 2021 after his sentence was commuted by the governor for his work as an inmate firefighter. He was arrested on unrelated parole violations in June 2023.
In May 2024, a Multnomah County grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun for the murders of Joanna Speaks, Charity Lynn Perry, and Bridget Leanne Webster. He was subsequently charged with the murders of three other women: Kristin Smith, Ashley Real, and Elizabeth "Libby" Gibson, bringing the total number of alleged victims to six. Calhoun has been charged with multiple counts of second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
For Joanna’s family, the year following her death was described by her mother as "hell" while they waited for answers. The indictment brought a complex mix of emotions. While her sister acknowledged it provided some closure, her mother expressed that no amount of answers could bring her daughter back. "She was loved unconditionally, and she loved hard," her mother, CoLene Vargas, said. "And she didn't deserve it. None of them did." As the legal proceedings against Jesse Lee Calhoun move forward, with a trial not expected until at least 2027, Joanna's family continues to seek justice for the woman whose life was tragically cut short.
