Detective Rick Buckner has to prove Keith Jesperson is the serial killer known as Happy Face Killer, guilty of murdering a woman in 1995, and has to make sure he is . After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. Jesperson, who was born in British Columbia in 1955 and moved to the US when he was 12, kept on killing until he was caught in 1995. Safety in numbers is the name of the game, before, during and after a night out on the town. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. These convictions meant Jesperson was unlikely to ever face charges for his crime. A Navy veteran, 24-year-old William Hurley went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. Mahoney drove to the address, but Hurley was not there. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous confessions signed with a smiley face. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The 21-year-old finance student rarely partied since he was dedicated to the university's soccer team, but he decided to have a few drinks for the new year. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. It had been washed ashore on a beach in Gary, Indiana, 30 miles south of Chicago. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and, During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous. Melissa Moore's father, known as the Happy Face Killer, murdered eight or more women. Jesperson was born on 6 April 1955, to Leslie (Les) and Gladys Jesperson in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada,[1] the middle child with two brothers and two sisters. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Per Courthouse News Service, Slagle is a registered nurse and grandmother residing in Chico, Calif. "I'm told to place her into a holding cell I say, 'OK, Laverne, now you need to go into that room right there,' She turned around and she looked at me and she gave me a hug. In. Her actual identity is unknown, but "Susanna" which Jesperson has stated may have been her name was confirmed to be one of his victims because he knew about the tie wraps found around her throat. RUIN SMILEY'S DAY: Follow these tips to minimize the danger of vanishing into thin air one night and ending up another unsolved "drowned" statistic: 1. . Jesperson is serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. Jesperson worked as a truck driver to support the family. [1] He confessed to killing her and subsequently admitted to seven other murders. She told investigators she had gone to the bar to meet Sosnovke, but Bennett was alive when she picked them up and both got in the car with her. On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. He received multiple life sentences for several of these crimes but was spared the death penalty. [00:02:05] Hi, everyone. For the 2014 film about Jesperson, see, List of serial killers in the United States, List of serial killers by number of victims, "The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)", "Serial killer receives fourth life sentence", "Dr. Phil Returns to The Oprah Show: My Father Is a Serial Killer", "ABC '20/20': Melissa Moore, Daughter Of Serial Killer, Opens Up Tonight About Life With 'Happy Face Killer' Keith Jesperson", "Meet Crime Watch Daily Correspondent Melissa Moore | Truecrimedaily.com", "My evil dad: Life as a serial killer's daughter", "Happy Face Presents: Two Face on Apple Podcasts", "Life After Happy Face on Apple Podcasts", Daughter of the 'Happy Face Killer' Talks About Growing Up With a Serial Killer Dad, Keith Hunter Jesperson: Happy Face Killer, Daughter of serial killer confronts her past, Radio Interview with Melissa Moore (daughter), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keith_Hunter_Jesperson&oldid=1142498372, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Crimes against sex workers in the United States, People extradited within the United States, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Oregon, Violence against women in the United States, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from November 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 8 confirmed (confessed to as many as 185). Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. Laverne Pavlinac is seen here showing investigators where Taunja Bennett's body was found, even though she had nothing to do with the crime. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. And that's how I remember her," said Melissa Gavin, her longtime friend. [2] Jesperson's father was a domineering alcoholic; according to Jesperson, his paternal grandfather was prone to violence. They believed his body traveled for almost 10 miles and even went through a dam before its discovery. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Keith grew to be a large, imposing man. Melissa G. Moore, Jesperson's older daughter, wrote Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killers Daughter (2009). She was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison with a 10-year minimum served. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. . Here's what the evidence says. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. Jesperson, who was born in British Columbia in 1955 and moved to the US when he was 12, kept on killing until he was caught in 1995. I wanted to get those two people out of prison," he said in 1995, referring to Pavlinac and Sosnovske. [27] In November 2014, she wrote an article about her father for the BBC.[28]. Today's episode is part 1 of our coverage of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. Jesperson married Rose Hucke on August 2, 1975. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. 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The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department. Convicted murderer Keith Jesperson, right, shown here at a Nov. 2, 1995, court appearance in Portland, Ore., with attorney Thomas Phelan, has recanted all his previous murder admissions. In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. "I said 'Why is she dead?'" Between 1997 and 2008, authorities pulled the dead bodies of more than 40 young white men out of rivers and lakes in more than 25 cities across 11 states. Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. Jesperson claims she was a sex worker who climbed into his truck, even though he told her he wasnt interested in her services, according to the two-hour, , 26. "Just so many bad things that happened in her life that I think, I don't know, it caused her to kinda snap or something," McAlpine said. They'd mostly all been college-aged, popular, and athletic. [10] Jesperson soon realized that this job afforded him the opportunity to kill without being suspected. serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, with whom they corresponded during the fall semester. The DNA Doe Project identified Skiple's body in partnership with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office after it was found near westbound State Route 152. , 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. His boss informed his family, who filed a missing persons report 72 hours later. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. The renowned crime journalist and author of The Misbegotten Son turns his attention to serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, the "Happy Face Killer" from Oregon who strangled eight women in the 1990s, detailing his evolution from angry child to psychotic murderer. Jesperson eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. Serial killer Keith Jesperson murders at least eight women over a five-year span and taunts authorities with disturbing letters and scribbled confessions signed with a happy face. Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. When the body of Taunja Bennett was found along the side of an Oregon highway in 1990, investigators never imagined that it would lead to the capture of a vicious serial killer. M. William Phelps penned a memoir about his interactions with Jesperson: Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer (2017). This finding is inconsistent with the belief that Booth drowned the night he disappeared. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been known only as "Blue Pacheco" for the color of her clothing until genetic genealogy was used to identify her last week, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said. She told investigators she drove them to a scenic overlook at the Columbia Gorge, where Sosnovske told her to pull over. Article Title: Keith Hunter Jesperson Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/keith-hunter-jesperson, Publisher: A&E Television Networks, Last Updated: March 3, 2021, Original Published Date: February 2, 2021. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. On January 25, 2017 around 11:30 p.m., James was walking back to his apartment after a night out drinking with friends and co-workers. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. I knew it had to be around there someplace. Geib's remains also had very little signs of decomposition, which would have been present if he had died the day he went missing 22 days before the recovery of his body. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. All drowned after getting intoxicated. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review Daughter of the infamous 'Happy Face' serial killer, Melissa Moore, and leading female Forensic Criminologist, Dr. Laura Pettler, unearth chilling details from homicide case files in this weekly true-crime series which tells the actual stories of people who shared their lives with a killer or their victims. He met the developmentally disabled Bennett while out drinking and convinced her to go to his house. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . While many believe their deaths are just that accidental former NYPD detectives Kevin Gannon, Michael Donovan, Anthony Duarte and professor of criminal justice Dr. Lee Gilbertson are convinced that most of these drownings are homicides. Investigators had been trying to nail down a suspect for weeks when Pavlinac brought Sosnovske to their attention. They were able to identify her as Skiple on April 13. Brown also believes that the smiley face images found in some of the cases are likely nothing more than coincidences based upon making a guess at where the body entered the water and searching a wide . PHOTO: Justice for Mason/Facebook. , 32, was found dead in September 1992. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! John Ingram, who worked on the case. She threatened to call the police, and he strangled her. Todd Geib was 22 years old when he went missing during the early hours of June 12, 2005, at a bonfire party in an orchard close to his home in Casnovia, Michigan. Jespersons second victim, known only as Claudia, was found murdered on August 30, 1992 in Blythe, California. When that did not create the attention he desired, he wrote letters to media outlets and police departments confessing to his murders, starting with a six-page letter to The Oregonian in which he revealed the details of his killings. When Young came back to the hotel around 4 a.m. and realized Welzien was not in their room, he searched the area outside the hotel. Punched her, slapped her. According to detectives Anthony Duarte and Kevin Gannon, the Smiley Face Theory came into . In the majority of the cases, the victims were successful students and athletes who disappeared after a night out drinking with friends, and they were ultimately found dead in a body of water. Her identity remains unknown. He split from his wife in 1990 after 15 years of . Soon after Angela Subrize ran into Jesperson at a bar in Spokane, Washington in January 1995, she traveled east with him in his truck. By Joseph Diaz, Scott Engel, Emily Wynn, Jenner Smith, and Lauren Effron November 4, 2021, 3:32 AM 1:24 Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . On April 23 in Hamburg and the following weekend in Dusseldorf, the bodies of young men were retrieved from waterways. Victim 8: Julia Ann Winningham, 41. The killers always leave a signature smiley face near the location of the body. Skiples remains were found on the side of California State Route 152 in the Gilroy area about 80 miles southeast of San Francisco in June 1993, in an area known as Pacheco Pass. "I don't remember going to no gorge, dumping no body for God's sake. For now it remains only a theory that has yet to be proved. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. He is serving three consecutive life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. As she and Sosnovske started their life sentences, one of the United States' most notorious serial killers continued his murder spree. He claimed to have victims in five states: Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Oregon. Jesperson met her in a bar in January 1995 and agreed to give her a ride before eventually killing her. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. Buddy up at all times. And just like his British counterpart, the police denied . One day, she watched, horrified, as he hung stray kittens from the family's clothesline. Laverne Pavlinac, right, touches the tear-stained face of her grandaughter, Nicole Sullivan, after being released from prison in Salem, Ore., Nov. 27, 1995. After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. Victim 1: Taunja Bennett. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. Jesperson has said that he took 166 lives, but only the above eight murders have been attributed to him. ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. He was a 21-year-old student at Fordham University, and his body was found in. GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. FILE - Accused murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, dubbed the Happy Face Killer, right, listens to his attorney . At age 35, standing 6feet 7inches (2.01m) and weighing approximately 255 pounds (116kg),[9] Jesperson began working toward the goal of joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), but an injury suffered while training ended this endeavor. She was a previously-unidentified woman named Patricia Skiple,[12] who, he claimed, was named "Carla" or "Cindy". Various witnesses outside the hotel saw Welzien vomiting in the street. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. Investigators have confirmed that he killed at least 8 people, including the woman now known to be Skiple. Jesperson was born on April 6, 1955, in British Columbia, Canada. His brother gave this letter to law enforcement. The victims were predominately white, male, athletic ("3.5 and above star athletes," according to Gannon), and young from 17 to early 20s. The body of a woman found near Gilroy, California was this week identified as Patricia Skiple, a victim of the Happy Face Killer. On January 21, 1990, after taking her to his rental place, plans to have sex went awry and he beat her senseless, he told Phelps. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. Investigators said there wasno sign of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. Editor Note: This is rerun of 2018 post. Over the past 20 years, hundreds of college-aged men across the US have died as the result of undetermined or accidental drownings. Most were strangers and some were sex workers. She was killed in Washington state on March 10, 1995, and her body was discovered the next day. Homan did not arrive for a golf outing the next day. A smiley face was found spray-painted near where Homans body was found. Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. Before he was identified as a serial killer, he anonymously confessed to his crimes in messages that contained smiley faces, leading to his being nicknamed the "Happy Face Killer." In these supposed "Smiley Face" serial killings, popular, high-achieving, athletic young men (i.e. Jesperson claims he killed her after she tried to double charge him for sex, according to Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer., Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. [3], Treated like an outcast and a black sheep by his own family and teased by other children for his large size at a young age, Jesperson was a lonely child who showed a propensity for torturing and killing animals. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. She previously claimed to the FBI that he was a wanted bank robber and frequently complained to Sosnovske's probation officer that he was drinking too much. In November 1995, a judge released Pavlinac and Sosnovske from prison. [5], That desire manifested in two attempted murders. James' body, however, had almost no visible damage, which was highly suspicious because it had traveled through heavily trafficked river. Happy Face Presents: Two Face iHeart True Crime True Crime 4.3 8.5K Ratings; What would you do if you learned you were adopted, your biological . Pavlinac set up a meeting with investigators and gave a false confession, using the details she had read in the newspaper to give a detailed story of how Sosnovske forced her to help him rape, murder, and dispose of Bennett's body. Bennett was found strangled to death near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. that, using genetic genealogy, they were able to identify a body found in 1993 as Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon. Victim 7: Angela Subrize, 21. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. [00:02:14] Jespersons fifth victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida. [18], Early in the investigation of Bennett's murder, Laverne Pavlinac read the news reports surrounding Bennett's death and saw it as an opportunity to force an end to the long-term abusive relationship she had been in with her live-in boyfriend, John Sosnovske. Pavlinac then confessed to her. Photo: 'Happy Face Killer' Bay Area murder victim finally identified Andrew Chamings , SFGATE April 18, 2022 Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, was 45 at the time of her death in 1993. Jesperson claims he killed her after she tried to double charge him for sex, according to Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer.. The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department announced on Tuesday that, using genetic genealogy, they were able to identify a body found in 1993 as Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Birth Year: 1955, Birth date: April 6, 1955, Birth City: British Columbia, Birth Country: Canada. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). He introduced himself to Bennett at a bar and invited her to a house he was renting. In 1975, when Jesperson was aged 20, he married Rose Hucke, and the couple had three children: two daughters and one son. According to Jesperson, after he killed his fifth victim in 1993 he managed to stave off murderous urges for more than a year by committing arson while on the road as a trucker. "Theyhave her tell me the story and I looked at her again, and I said, 'Mom, are you sure?' Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. Local police theorized the men simply got too drunk, fell into the water and drowned, but Gannon, Donovan, Duarte and Gilbertson investigated their deaths as the work of an organized group of serial killers dubbed "The Smiley Face Killers." Their work has spawned an Oxygen series, Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice, which aired in January 2019. But when investigators were unable to match the purse and denim piece to Bennett, they confronted Pavlinac about fabricating evidence. She later rescinded her confession, but in 1991 a jury still found her guilty. , who survived a violent encounter with Jesperson when she was 21. That letter-writer turned out to be Keith Hunter Jesperson, who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. When an Oregon newspaper ran a five-part series called The Happy Face Serial Killer in 1994, an anonymous author took credit for the five murders. Julie Winningham is seen here in this undated photo. 2. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. The team believes the serial killers are highly sophisticated and communicate with each other on the dark web. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. I don't," Sosnovke is heard saying on the tape. However, a part of him wanted to claim credit, so he wrote about murdering Bennett in a bus terminal bathroom. At her trial, Pavlinac recanted her confession, but the jury found her guilty. The Pittsburgh police theorized James fell into the river while crossing a bridge near the city center and drowned. For example, the Canadian-American serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the . I will be writing about that more in the future so stay tuned. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. Jesperson claims that her name was Susanne. The message was signed with a smiley face. Remains found in Merced County, California on June 3, 1993, belonged to a Jesperson victim he has said was called "Cindy." The following morning, James did not show up for work. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". Pavlinac's son also died shortly after due to medical reasons. In the summer of 1992, Jesperson met "Claudia" at a truck checkpoint in California. She then reported Hurley missing, and various searches were conducted. The area had been searched repeatedly in the weeks before his body was discovered, but no one had seen Booth. [29][30] In September 2018, podcast network HowStuffWorks began releasing a show called Happy Face[31] featuring interviews with Melissa about her childhood and her father. , who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. [4] Because of this, Jesperson was a shy child, content to play by himself much of the time. Often Keith would dream of becoming an RCMP officer, the power of a position like that appealed to him, but his dream was dashed in 1990 after an injury prevented him from qualifying. After Pavlinac confessed to investigators, her daughter said she got a call from the detectives asking her to come to her mother's house right away. While he has claimed to have killed as many as 160 people, only eight murders have been confirmed. After a series of letters are sent to the press, the killer earned the moniker, the Happy Face Killer. Rather than fall victim to the trauma surrounding her father's crimes and arrest, she processed the events. Upset that he was not getting any media attention, Jesperson drew a smiley face on a bathroom wall hundreds of miles from the scene of the crime and wrote an anonymous letter confessing to Bennett's murder, providing proof.