Sedalia, Missouri, teen killed in Table Rock Lake jet ski collision
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Oregon murder suspect now charged in death of 4th woman: DA
An Oregon man previously charged in connection with the deaths of three women has been newly charged in the murder of a fourth, officials announced Tuesday. A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Jesse Lee Calhoun in the 2022 murder of 22-year-old Kristin Smith, the local prosecutor's office said. MORE: Oregon man charged with murder in suspicious deaths of 3 women in 'complex' case: DA He has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree abuse of a corpse in connection with her death, according to Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez. Calhoun faces the same charges in connection with the deaths of Charity Lynn Perry, 24, Bridget Leanne Webster, 31, and Joanna Speaks, 32. He pleaded not guilty to those charges last year. Smith's murder was initially believed to have been linked to those three killings at the time Calhoun was initially indicted in May 2024, though he hadn't been charged with her death until now. The bodies of three of the victims were found in 2023 in northwest Oregon, including the Portland area. Speaks' body was found in Washington that year, though police in Portland have said the homicide was believed to have happened in the Oregon city. The murders occurred over five months, with Smith's occurring first in November 2022, according to Vasquez. Smith was reported missing in December 2022, and her body was found in a wooded area in Portland two months later, police said. MORE: Suspect in Tennessee quadruple killing captured after week on the run The murders of the three other victims occurred between March and April of 2023, according to Vasquez. Their bodies were all discovered in April 2023, according to authorities. Multnomah County prosecutors have released few details about the case, including what led them to the suspect and how the women died, citing the ongoing investigation. "This remains a very active investigation, and unfortunately, we're not going to be discussing the evidence underlying the charges today," Vasquez said during a press briefing on Tuesday. The trial is expected to occur in 2027, the prosecutor's office said. Calhoun's defense attorneys told ABC News on Tuesday that they have no comment at this time. Kristin Smith's mother said she was "overwhelmed with emotion" following the new charges. "I stayed strong, doing all I could, trying to save my daughter. And it was just unbearable to find out when I was too late and needed help finding her," her mother, Melissa Smith, said during Tuesday's press briefing. "I did everything I could to try to get answers and fight and search." Wearing a shirt with the words "Justice for Kristin Smith," the mother said she experienced "agonizing pain" after Calhoun was not initially charged last year in her daughter's death -- and prayed every day that this day would come. "I've always stayed hopeful that I would get justice for Kristin," she said. "I never gave up." MORE: Manhunt intensifies for Montana bar shooting suspect, 38 agencies part of the 'unrelenting' search The death of a fifth woman -- 22-year-old Ashley Real -- initially believed to have been linked to the other killings, remains under investigation, Vasquez said, calling it an "extremely important case to us." Real's body was found in a wooded area in Clackamas County in Oregon in May 2023, a month after she was reported missing to Portland police, authorities said. Vasquez said they continue to work with authorities in Clackamas County on that investigation. The multiple deaths sparked online speculation about a possible serial killer in the Pacific Northwest, with prosecutors subsequently announcing in July 2023 that they had found links between four of the victims.
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Russian oligarch's superyacht to be auctioned in US
A luxurious superyacht seized by the US authorities from sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov is headed to the auction block. The 348-foot (106-metre) Amadea has a helipad, pool, jacuzzi, gym, spa, beauty salon and eight staterooms that can accommodate 16 guests, according to The yacht, which has been valued at more than $300 million, was seized from the Russian oligarch in Fiji in April 2022 and is currently berthed in San Diego, California. The auction is being held by National Maritime Services, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, company. Sealed bids are being accepted until September 10 and require a $10 million initial bid deposit. The yacht is headed to the auction block after a US judge in March dismissed a competing claim to ownership of the vessel. Another wealthy Russian, Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of Russian state oil and gas company Rosneft, claimed in a New York court to be the rightful owner of the Amadea but his claim was dismissed by District Judge Dale Ho. According to prosecutors, Khudainatov was a "straw owner" of the Amadea and the true owner was Kerimov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 and again in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Following the invasion, the Justice Department under then-president Joe Biden began seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs close to Putin, an operation known as Task Force KleptoCapture. President Donald Trump disbanded the task force after taking office. The US Congress passed legislation last year that allows for the sale of seized Russian assets, with the proceeds going to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. cl/st
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Attorneys seek federal probe of Los Angeles County sexual abuse allegations
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Attorneys representing over 200 women said Tuesday they want the federal government to investigate allegations of rampant sexual abuse that occurred over decades at juvenile bootcamps run by the Los Angeles County probation department. The request comes months after Los Angeles County officials agreed to a $4 billion payout to settle 7,000 claims of sexual abuse in juvenile facilities since 1959, the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history. Attorneys whose clients were not a part of the deal said in a letter Monday to U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli that the settlement was not enough because there has been no information about who it happened or who was responsible. They are asking the Department of Justice to open a probe. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment. The attorneys' clients were between the ages of 12 and 17 when they were sent to camps designated for 'at-risk youth' who had committed minor offenses, separate from the juvenile halls. Some parents were charged tuition for attendance, the attorneys said. John Manly, one of the attorneys, said during a news conference Tuesday that the camps were akin to the island owned by Jeffrey Epstein where he allegedly brought underage girls to be exploited. He said the most notorious was Camp Joseph Scott, located in Santa Clarita. It housed an all-girls population with a capacity of 125 residents and was shuttered during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the city of Santa Clarita. 'The sad and unbelievable truth is these camps were dens of sexual predation where LA County probation officers in charge of helping these children get on track turned them into human sex toys,' the attorneys said. His colleague, Courtney Thom, said one former deputy probation officer, Thomas Jackson, had been accused by at least 30 women of sexual assault during their time in the custody of the probation department. A civil lawsuit involving these allegations against Jackson is scheduled to go to trial in August. "When our client was released back to her grandmother, this deputy probation officer went out to her home and would take her from her home to areas within the community to continue sexually abusing her and continued to contact her and torment her throughout her adult life as well,' Thom said. Jackson's attorney, Tom Yu, said his client is 'innocent of the allegations brought by those who received billions of dollars in taxpayers' money. As usual, the county abandoned their defense and blamed the employees.' Jackson's case was referred by the county to prosecutors for investigation in December 2023 but they declined to prosecute because the alleged incidents happened too long ago, according to an April 7 memo, the Los Angeles Times reported. Jackson resigned in 2023 after working for the county for decades and is now collecting a pension, according to Thom. 'Not one of those current or former LA County Probation Department officers has been prosecuted, not one has been arrested,' Thom said. 'Without a full investigation about what happened ... how can anyone assure this won't happen again?' The county's Office of County Counsel said in a statement that it is working with authorities to hold those who committed abuse accountable, but records are no longer available in many of the cases. 'The childhood sexual abuse claims in question span many decades,' the statement said. 'In addition, plaintiffs' attorneys have not produced evidence enabling the County to identify perpetrators in the vast majority of claims." Nonetheless, the statement said, the county "wholeheartedly supports efforts to ensure that those who have committed crimes against minors are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' The plaintiffs in the $4 billion settlement were able to sue because of a California law that took effect in 2020 and suspended the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse victims to bring cases for three years. Manly and Thom have represented plaintiffs in several high-profile sexual abuse cases, including gymnasts in their lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University sports doctor Larry Nassar, who was accused by more than 300 women and girls of sexual assault and is serving three prison sentences that will likely keep him locked up for life. The letter also called for an investigation of whether the county concealed allegations of ongoing abuse at the juvenile facilities when the Justice Department investigated the facilities in 2006 and established a federal monitor in 2008. It found that the county had completed all of its required reforms by 2014.
