All calls are toll-free and confidential. [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. He confessed to killing her and subsequently admitted to seven other murders. are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. [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. Skiples remains were found on the side of. Bennett was found strangled to death near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. T he Smiley Face death toll continues to climb, this time in Germany. The term "Smiley Face Killers" come from the graffiti smiley faces supposedly found at the crime scenes. According to police reports, one dog later hit on an an SUV owned by a local band member, who had played a show at the bar the night of Homan's disappearance, but the K9 alert was inconclusive. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. Notorious serial killer Keith Jesperson, better known by the "Happy Face Killer" nickname he was given in the '90s, has spent decades behind bars but his daughter believes he would kill again if released from prison today. 45 colleged-aged males across a 20-year span. That's when they said she implicated herself in the murder, according to Det. [He said,] 'No, no. They believed his body traveled for almost 10 miles and even went through a dam before its discovery. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review And that's how I remember her," said Melissa Gavin, her longtime friend. 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. Jesperson was a middle child, with an older sister and brother and a younger sister and brother. Jesperson eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. She'sgiveher the shirt off her back," McAlpine said. 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. Happy Face stands out because of Moore 's intimate tie to the criminal in question. Melissa G. Moore, Jesperson's older daughter, wrote Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killers Daughter (2009). When contacted by sheriffs detectives, he said he had gagged her with duct tape, raped her in the sleeping cab of his rig and strangled her, reported the Spokesman-Review. "I said 'Why is she dead?'" .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. The Happy Face Killer's eighth and final victim that would be his downfall. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. [33] The episode was released on July 9, 2021. What Is the Smiley Face Killers Theory? This finding is inconsistent with the belief that Booth drowned the night he disappeared. The victims were predominately white, male, athletic ("3.5 and above star athletes," according to Gannon), and young from 17 to early 20s. Skiple was known to family and friends as Patsy, according to the sheriffs department. ". Most were strangers and some were sex workers. His death was ruleda probable drowning, and there wereno signs of trauma. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. In June 2021, a trailer appeared on iTunes for a new true crime podcast called Life After Happy Face, to be hosted by Melissa Moore and forensic criminologist Laura Pettler. Today's episode is part 1 of our coverage of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. After the body of his first victim, Taunja Bennett, was found, media attention surrounded Laverne Pavlinac, a woman who falsely confessed to having killed Bennett with the help of her abusive boyfriend, John Sosnovske. A victim of the Happy Face Killer has been identified nearly 30 years after her body was left near a California highway, authorities said Monday. 18, 2022, 3:19 p.m. Patricia Skiple, who lived in Colton, Oregon, has been identified as a victim of Keith Jesperson, the "Happy Face Killer," almost 30 years after Skiple's body . In both cases, and as per usual . Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. 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. "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. Welzien told his friends he wanted to call it a night and go back to the hotel where they were staying. Over the past 20 years, hundreds of college-aged men across the US have died as the result of undetermined or accidental drownings. Victim 6: Florida Jane Doe. 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. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. 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. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. Sosnovske pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. [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. 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 . A Navy veteran, 24-year-old William Hurley went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. Jesperson had dated before her before killing her on March 3, 1995 because he believed she was after his money. These convictions meant Jesperson was unlikely to ever face charges for his crime. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. "I [had] seen all these tracks and all this and that. In March 2018, she was featured in an episode, titled "Put on a Happy Face", of the Investigation Discovery true crime series Evil Lives Here. 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. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. Questions Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice Hopes to Answer, A First Look at the Murder of Susan Berman. However, the kicker is that these drownings happening in 11 different states. 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. Or 'I will cause trouble for your family. 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. 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. Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? He strangled her and left her corpse in Oregon. "Theyhave her tell me the story and I looked at her again, and I said, 'Mom, are you sure?' The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. ABC News/YouTube By Jean Mendoza / June 8, 2021 9:24 am EST Keith Hunter Jesperson is a serial killer who claimed the lives of eight women between 1990 and 1995. On January 1, 2000, Northern Illinois University junior. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Criminal profiler Pat Brown calls the serial killer theory "ludicrous", arguing that the evidence does not fit what is known about serial killers. Between 1990 and 1995, eight women died at the hands of Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face Killer. His brothers did not help him, instead they nicknamed him "Igor" or "Ig", a name that stuck throughout his school years. [5], That desire manifested in two attempted murders. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. 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. [11] Jesperson gives the Jane Doe's name as Claudia. About two weeks after he went missing,Booth's body was foundfacedown in a creek behind the bar. 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. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. 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". 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. She later rescinded her confession, but in 1991 a jury still found her guilty. Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. 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. 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. For example, the Canadian-American serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the . Pavlinac then confessed to her. She grew up in a small town in Washington state and survived the escalating violence from her home life and. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, with whom they corresponded during the fall semester. 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. A smiley face was found spray-painted near where Homans body was found. 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. Sometimes they even brag about it. Angela Surbrize was the name of Jesperson's second-to-last victim. . In September 2009, Jesperson was indicted in Riverside County, California, on murder charges; he was extradited in December 2009. What doesn't make sense is that many of the 40 cases the investigators have looked into have puzzling evidence. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . . But it was all a lie. [1] B. According to Gannon and Gilbertson, Homan had various injuries on his head, hands and arms, and they theorized that a mark on his forehead may have been a footprint that was the result of Homan being held down. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. He had a relationship with his final victim and became a suspect after her body was discovered in March 1995. After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. James' parents later hired a private investigator who organized a massive citywide search, which led tothe discovery of James' bodyin the Ohio River on March 6, 2017, 40 days after he had disappeared. His boss informed his family, who filed a missing persons report 72 hours later. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. But to Melissa Moore, he was more than just a serial killer . Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. The morning of October 2, Homan's body was found not far from the shore of the Mississippi River. While he has claimed to have killed as many as 160 people, only eight murders have been confirmed. 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. Victim 1: Taunja Bennett. ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. Jesperson reported that he was raped at age 14. Jesperson killed his next victim in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an early age which included torturing animals and attacking other children. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer".