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 Oxygen special. Police interview tapes obtained by "20/20" show the lengths Pavlinac went to convince investigators she and Sosnovske were the killers responsible when they weren't. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. Melissa Moore's father, known as the Happy Face Killer, murdered eight or more women. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. In September 1994, the body of a woman was found in Florida. He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. Pavlinac then confessed to her. Police saidthere were no signs of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an early age which included torturing animals and attacking other children. The daughter of a man dubbed the "Happy Face Killer" has revealed the suffering she went through after discovering her father, Keith Jesperson, was a serial rapist and murderer who preyed on what he once claimed was as many as 185 people over a five-year span. Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Jesperson sent the photo to the Duquesne University students. If you need help or need help supporting someone else, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review "To come clean get it all over, the record straight. Authorities came to believe they had convicted the wrong people. They were able to identify her as Skiple on April 13. [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. A Navy veteran, 24-year-old William Hurley went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. I have been a killer for five years and have killed eight people." Melissa G. Moore, Jesperson's older daughter, wrote Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killers Daughter (2009). Jesperson murdered another woman in August 1992 at a Turlock, California truck stop. In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. For now it remains only a theory that has yet to be proved. The morning of October 2, Homan's body was found not far from the shore of the Mississippi River. His brother gave this letter to law enforcement. Jesperson told Phelps they met at a truck stop and that after he agreed to give her a ride he felt like she was trying to play him. A television movie, Happy Face Killer, starring David Arquette as Jesperson, aired in 2014. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all other Spotify originals from podcast for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Oddly,Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the wateras if he had gone for a swim. Pavlinac told investigators during her last recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. One of them was to a friendwho said she heard Geib say, "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. In November 1995, a judge released Pavlinac and Sosnovske from prison. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. ". 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. "I [had] seen all these tracks and all this and that. Daun Slagle is the sole survivor of the "Happy Face Killer." She is the only person to survive an attack by the infamous serial killer. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. 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. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. 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. By Tim Stelloh. Six days after his disappearance,Hurley's body was foundin the Charles River, close to where he asked Mahoney to pick him up. Jesperson married Rose Hucke on August 2, 1975. 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." After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. 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. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and, During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous. "Pavlinac has selfishly engaged in an obsessive and persistent obstruction of justice which deflected the investigation at an early stage, causing it to focus on her boyfriend, Sosnovske, while the real killer remained free to kill again and again," Lipscomb wrote in 1995. Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. All Rights Reserved. His older daughter has described witnessing acts of animal cruelty that included Jesperson killing kittens. The first victim was found in 1997. When investigators asked him why he decided to come forward, Jesperson listed two reasons. The term "Smiley Face Killers" come from the graffiti smiley faces supposedly found at the crime scenes. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. The smiley face murder theory (also known as the smiley face murders, smiley face killings, and smiley face gang) is a theory advanced by retired New York City detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, as well as Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor and gang expert at St. She was a previously-unidentified woman named Patricia Skiple,[12] who, he claimed, was named "Carla" or "Cindy". A smiley face had been spray-painted on a tree near where Geib's body was found, and a smiley face sticker was later placed on his gravesite. That this never happened. Homan and his friend somehow got separated during their walk home, and his friend ended up at the ER detox with a head injury after being picked up by police. Some say the Smiley Face Killer has taken 40 victims over two decades. He had a relationship with his final victim and became a suspect after her body was discovered in March 1995. I will be writing about that more in the future so stay tuned. The "Smiley Face Killer" may or may not be a killer or group of killers who've murdered at least three dozen drunken white college-aged males, dumped their bodies in waterways, and taunted police by drawing a smiley face near the crime scene. "Now, I'm thinking, 'She's confessed she's pointed out the dump site, she's confessed to us on tape. He is serving three consecutive life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. 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. About two weeks after he went missing,Booth's body was foundfacedown in a creek behind the bar. 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. . Keith grew to be a large, imposing man. He received multiple life sentences for several of these crimes but was spared the death penalty. He left her remains in Nebraska, though Subrize was likely killed in Wyoming. [6] Although Jesperson was not successful with girls in high school, having never even attended a school dance or his prom, he did enter into a relationship after high school. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. 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. I'll go to death row.'". Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. "Theyhave her tell me the story and I looked at her again, and I said, 'Mom, are you sure?' 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. On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. "I sometimes now wonder, if he was freed now, if he was released, would he kill again? Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. In both cases, and as per usual . 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. According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. Victim 2: California Jane Doe. Mahoney said she drove around for an hour before returning home, thinking Hurley got another ride, and that when she got back, Hurley was still gone. Laverne Pavlinac, who, along with John Sosnovske, was convicted for the killing of Taunja Bennett, waits at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem, Ore., Oct. 27, 1995, for word on her release. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. Ciao ragazzi, oggi vi raccontiamo la storia di un assassino seriale che ha ucciso almeno 8 vittime in cinque anni e soprannominato "The Happy Face Killer". Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. Tension in the marriage increased, and after fourteen years, while Jesperson was on the road, Hucke packed up her and her children's belongings and drove 200 miles away to live with her parents in Spokane, Washington. The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . And that's how I remember her," said Melissa Gavin, her longtime friend. Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. A few days before his arrest, he wrote a letter to his brother in which he confessed to having killed eight people over the course of five years. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was the only one in their family who graduated from high school, someone who read a lot and loved music. Keith Hunter Jesperson (born April 6, 1955) is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the early 1990s. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. While in custody, Jesperson shared details of his eight murders. At the time, Pavlinac said she was able to dupe authorities because she had learned details of the crime from newspaper articles and from reading the search warrant without police noticing. He could not find Welzien and reported him missing around 1 p.m. After extensive searches, Welzien's body was found 77 days later on March 17. Investigators believedhe could have walked to the edge of Lake Michigan, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and fallen in. Detectives first became aware of Pavlinac when she anonymously called them to report that she overheard Sosnovske at a bar bragging about killing Bennett. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . [He said,] 'No, no. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. Canadian-American serial killer (born 1955), "Happy Face Killer" redirects here. Some time later, at a public pool, Jesperson attempted to drown the boy by holding his head under the water until a lifeguard pulled him away.[6]. [15], Although Jesperson at one point claimed to have had as many as 160 victims,[16] only the eight women killed in Washington, Oregon, California, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming have been confirmed. . A "witchy" smiley face left at a murder site of the supposed "Smiley Face Serial Killer" seems to represent Charlie Manson. Punched her, slapped her. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. "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. Jesperson is serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon. Investigators had been trying to nail down a suspect for weeks when Pavlinac brought Sosnovske to their attention. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . T he Smiley Face death toll continues to climb, this time in Germany. are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. 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. Editor Note: This is rerun of 2018 post. He was sentenced to life in prison while Pavlinac was sentenced to no less than ten years, much more than she had anticipated. More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. All calls are toll-free and confidential. Updated: Mar 3, 2021 (1955-) Who Is Keith Hunter. "The greatest human tragedy is that Laverne Pavlinac derailed the investigation in 1990, and in four years, Keith Jesperson killed more women," said Jim McIntyre, the Multnomah County, Oregon, prosecutor who handled the cases. Sosnovske pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges to avoid the possibility of a death sentence and was sentenced to life in prison. The oldest child, Melissa, was ten years old. 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. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. '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. Mahoney drove to the address, but Hurley was not there. His father often punished Jesperson by hitting him with a leather belt. Meanwhile, the real killer carried out a series of murders over five years. While he has claimed to have killed many more people, officials can only confirm that Jesperson killed eight women between 1990 and 1995 in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska and Wyoming. 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. Jesperson became a suspect after Winningham's was found since he was known to be her boyfriend. The Pittsburgh police theorized James fell into the river while crossing a bridge near the city center and drowned. [13] Police originally considered her death a drug overdose. 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. After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. The message was signed with a smiley face. Pieces of his artwork have been seen on "murderabilia" sites. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. This finding is inconsistent with the belief that Booth drowned the night he disappeared. The police gave him the nickname "The Happy Face Killer" as he would leave a happy face on his confession letters to the media. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and prosecutors. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. Between 1990 and 1995, eight women died at the hands of Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face Killer. , 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). Gannon and Gilbertson also notedthe body appeared to have been staged three sticks were strategically placed around his body, and there were shoe and drag marks in the soil. His death was ruled an undetermined drowning. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Soon after his injury was when Keith started to kill. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. 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. He tries to paint the victim as someone who needed to be killed, Phelps, whose nearly decade-long relationship with the killer gives him insight into Jespersons mind, told producers. The killers always leave a signature smiley face near the location of the body. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. I had been worried about this for a long time. Buddy up at all times. Jesperson is currently serving a sentence of life without parole at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Pavlinac seemed to know intimate details about the case. Safety in numbers is the name of the game, before, during and after a night out on the town. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. 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. They met at a truck stop in Corning, California. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. "I consider this the most dangerous domestic terrorist group in the United States today," said Gannon. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. That letter-writer turned out to be. 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.
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