I think that she was at a bad place in her life," said her daughter Darlene Carpenter. When she recanted, Pavlinac said she falsely confessed because she was stuck in a volatile relationship with Sosnovske, desperately seeking a way out and wanting him in prison. Jesperson was born on April 6, 1955, in British Columbia, Canada. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The Smiley Face Killers. 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. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. April 18, 2022, at 9:19 p.m. California 'Happy Face Killer' Victim ID'd After 29 Years. [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. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. Jesperson became a suspect after Winningham's was found since he was known to be her boyfriend. After Jesperson was in custody, he provided the location of Bennett's purse, which only the killer would know. But when investigators were unable to match the purse and denim piece to Bennett, they confronted Pavlinac about fabricating evidence. A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. 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. According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the water. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. 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. A "witchy" smiley face left at a murder site of the supposed "Smiley Face Serial Killer" seems to represent Charlie Manson. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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. Remains found in Merced County, California on June 3, 1993, belonged to a Jesperson victim he has said was called "Cindy." Retired New York City Police detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, joined by criminal justice professor Dr. Lee Gilbertson, believe that a group of serial killers have been murdering young men around the country and making their deaths look like accidental drownings. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? "I think what happened to mother was she was in an abusive relationship, and she was desperate, and desperate people do desperate things, not to say that it was right, but that's what I think happened," said Pavlinac's daughter Bonne McAlpine. [4] Because of this, Jesperson was a shy child, content to play by himself much of the time. He never made it home. 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. But the judge did not overturn Pavlinac's conviction, writing he did not find a constitutional defect with her trial since she had been convicted by a jury of her peers. That's whyall ofthis doesn'tmake sense. Jespersons fifth victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida. He confessed to killing her and subsequently admitted to seven other murders. Jespersons heinous crimes as well as shocking twists in the case including a, couple who took the blame for one of his homicides. The following morning, James did not show up for work. 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. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. She was a previously-unidentified woman named Patricia Skiple,[12] who, he claimed, was named "Carla" or "Cindy". Buddy up at all times. Potential "Smiley Face Killers" victim Todd Geib. [7] He had watched and laughed as the kittens clawed each other to escape, then he killed them. [27] In November 2014, she wrote an article about her father for the BBC.[28]. 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. [5], That desire manifested in two attempted murders. The body of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was found in this remote woodland near the Columbia Gorge in 1990. 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. 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. He enjoyed watching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got from taking their lives. He had a relationship with his final victim and became a suspect after her body was discovered in March 1995. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson. The area had been searched repeatedly in the weeks before his body was discovered, but no one had seen Booth. Victim 2: California Jane Doe. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. Jesperson got away easily so long as he was killing women he did not know, but his impulsivity got the best of him, and eventually, he murdered someone he did knowhis own girlfriend. She later rescinded her confession, but in 1991 a jury still found her guilty. 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. Despite the distance between them, some detectives think that drownings are actually the work of a serial killer or group of serial killers. He introduced himself to Bennett at a bar and invited her to a house he was renting. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. I'll go to death row.'". , 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. California investigators have identified a victim of the Happy Face Killer using DNA nearly 30 years after her body was left near a California highway. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. In later years, Jesperson also sent anonymous letters to The Oregonian newspaper about what had become his multiple murders. 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. Investigators said there wasno sign of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. Following the discovery of Bennett's body in January 1990, Laverne Pavlinac lied to police that she'd aided her boyfriend John Sosnovske in committing the crime. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. . He claimed to have victims in five states: Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Oregon. One day, she watched, horrified, as he hung stray kittens from the family's clothesline. That this never happened. She also said she was able to point to the location of Bennett's body based on where the brush had been cleared away. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. Skiples remains were found on the side of. PHOTO: Justice for Mason/Facebook. "She slapped him. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities. Investigators believedhe could have walked to the edge of Lake Michigan, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and fallen in. [00:02:14] In these supposed "Smiley Face" serial killings, popular, high-achieving, athletic young men (i.e. "She was that kind of woman. And they were laughing," Pavlinac told investigators. We need to report this, John.' Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. Jesperson was a. I had been worried about this for a long time. Some say the Smiley Face Killer has taken 40 victims over two decades. This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. [22] She was also featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show,[23] the Lifetime Movies network series Monster in My Family,[24][25] and a 20/20 special on ABC. 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. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. Gannon, Duarte, Donovan and Gilbertson claim an organized group of serial killers would drug unsuspecting victims at a bar or party then abduct, hold and torture the victims before finally killing and dumping the bodies in water. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the Happy Face Killer, nearly 30 years after her murder. 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. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. 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. They'd mostly all been college-aged, popular, and athletic. Their work has spawned an Oxygen series, Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice, which aired in January 2019. 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. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. A Canadian-born long-haul truck driver and divorced father of three, Jesperson carried out his killings over the course of five years until he turned himself in to authorities in 1995. After he strangled them, he dumped the dead bodies on the side of the road. After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. Investigators have confirmed that he killed at least 8 people, including the woman now known to be Skiple. 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. ". B. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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 apprehended before he kills again. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! She then reported Hurley missing, and various searches were conducted. Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been . In. Police saidthere were no signs of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. Victim 6: Florida Jane Doe. . Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. In reality, smiley face is a joyous symbol to convey happiness and joy, which is used everywhere from message chatting to letters to wall decoration in our daily lives. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. April 19, 2022 / 7:43 AM / CBS San Francisco. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. Jesperson, who was arrested in 1995 on suspicion of killing a woman in Washington state, was dubbed the Happy Face Killer because he drew smiley faces on letters he sent to the media and. [1] Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. Her daughters are still trying to understand why their mother did what she did, and why she didn't see another way to end the relationship. 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. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. One of the things about my dad - which made me very uncomfortable as a young woman - was that he was very explicit about his sexual relationships. Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. Angela Surbrize was the name of Jesperson's second-to-last victim. of Victims 8-185 killed 5 attempted Span of crimes 1995/1966-March 10, 1995 (confirmed) Criminal Charges [32] The series had 12 episodes. He was found guilty of killing Bennett, Pentland, and Winningham and was sentenced to six consecutive and concurrent sentences. According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. She found out that her son had reportedly suffered blunt force trauma to the head, his eye socket and behind his left leg. [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. Rather than fall victim to the trauma surrounding her father's crimes and arrest, she processed the events. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. 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. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. That's when they said she implicated herself in the murder, according to Det. His father often punished Jesperson by hitting him with a leather belt. Most were strangers and some were sex workers. 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. The message was signed with a smiley face. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. 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. In the days following, Jesperson decided that he was certainly going to be arrested, and after two suicide attempts turned himself in hoping it would result in leniency during his sentencing. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . 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. While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. In 1975, when Jesperson was aged 20, he married Rose Hucke, and the couple had three children: two daughters and one son. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. "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. Investigators had been trying to nail down a suspect for weeks when Pavlinac brought Sosnovske to their attention. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. [17] He was convicted of another murder and received a fourth life sentence in January 2010. Julie Winningham is seen here in this undated photo. Others say there is no killer. Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. 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. 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. 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. He later claimed his intention was to kill the boy. Melissa G. Moore, Jesperson's older daughter, wrote Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killers Daughter (2009). 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. Pavlinac seemed to know intimate details about the case. Pavlinac told investigators during her last recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. While in custody, Jesperson shared details of his eight murders. During the drive, Welzien started throwing up. "I don't think she was in love with him. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. Skiple was known to family and friends as Patsy, according to the sheriffs department. A jury had convicted a Portland woman named Laverne Pavlinac based on her detailed confession to police that she helped her boyfriend John Sosnovske rape and kill the 23-year-old. Investigators installed a hidden recording device in their home hoping to catch Sosnovske making incriminating statements. Jesperson resides in the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he spends much of his time making art. At her trial, Pavlinac recanted her confession, but the jury found her guilty. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and, During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous. Jesperson would capture birds and stray cats and dogs around the trailer park where he lived with his family, severely beating the animals and then strangling them to death, something for which he claims his father was proud of him. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . Smiley faces again served as his signature, prompting a journalist to dub Jesperson the "Happy Face Killer.". . GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. Dr. Laura Pettler, along with her partner in crime-fighting, Melissa Moore, are taking a deep dive into murder cases in the upcoming podcast, "Life After Happy Face." "Life After Happy Face" is a follow-up to Moore's "The Happy Face Killer" podcast, which followed the case of Keith Jesperson, a serial killer who wreaked havoc in the Pacific Northwest during the 1990s. Jesperson's first victim, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett, was killed on January 21, 1990. In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. 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. .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. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the "Happy Face Killer," nearly 30 years after her murder. Oddly,Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the wateras if he had gone for a swim. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an. 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. "I said 'Why is she dead?'" In both cases, and as per usual . Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. "I consider this the most dangerous domestic terrorist group in the United States today," said Gannon. Laverne Pavlinac convinced investigators she and John Sosnovske had killed Taunja Bennett, when they hadn't. Victim 4:Laurie Ann Pentland, 26. Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. [20], On 7 January 1996, more than five years after their conviction, Pavlinac and Sosnovske were released from prison after Jesperson and his attorney offered his confession with convincing evidence of his guilt. 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). He would often get into trouble for behaving badly, sometimes violently, and would be severely punished by his father. For now it remains only a theory that has yet to be proved. The two would often get into trouble together, and Jesperson claimed he was often punished many times for things Martin had done and shifted the blame. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. 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. 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.
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