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. Investigators have confirmed that he killed at least 8 people, including the woman now known to be Skiple. For example, the Canadian-American serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the . And they were laughing," Pavlinac told investigators. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. The man said "99 Nashua Street, and Hurley said his cell phone battery was going dead. 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 month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. Keith Hunter Jesperson, The Sad Story of the Happy Face Killer Stories about . 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. 45 colleged-aged males across a 20-year span. The couple divorced in 1990.[8]. Jesperson had dated before her before killing her on March 3, 1995 because he believed she was after his money. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. 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. Keith Hunter Jesperson committed his first murder in 1990. 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". The following morning, James did not show up for work. , who survived a violent encounter with Jesperson when she was 21. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. 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. 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. [7] Jesperson continued to spend time with his children when he was in town. [27] In November 2014, she wrote an article about her father for the BBC.[28]. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review All drowned after getting intoxicated. However, Jesperson.css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;} later said he actually killed another woman and did not recognize Wilcox's photo. First, she told investigators that she knew Sosnovske did it because she saw Bennett's body, said Ingram. He had been questioned by police a week before, but they had no grounds to arrest him after he refused to talk. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. Mahoney drove to the address, but Hurley was not there. "I [had] seen all these tracks and all this and that. Jesperson resides in the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he spends much of his time making art. She also examined her father's actions in the podcast Happy Face. 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. Homan did not arrive for a golf outing the next day. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities. 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. She would pop in and pop out, and over the years, She was that type of person.". B. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. [17] He was convicted of another murder and received a fourth life sentence in January 2010. Today, we're finishing our look at Keith Jesperson, the twisted murderer otherwise known as the Happy Face Killer. ". She then reported Hurley missing, and various searches were conducted. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Investigators installed a hidden recording device in their home hoping to catch Sosnovske making incriminating statements. He met the developmentally disabled Bennett while out drinking and convinced her to go to his house. They were able to identify her as Skiple on April 13. 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. For now it remains only a theory that has yet to be proved. April 19, 2022 / 7:43 AM / CBS San Francisco. 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. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. During the drive, Welzien started throwing up. A stealth serial killer who wants to trick everyone against him will change-up his playbook with small tweaks to put a wrench in the profiler's and forensic scientist's game. Victim 1: Taunja Bennett. She then described how she watched Sosnovske have sex with Bennett while he directed her to hold a rope around her neck, and that she believed she pulled the rope too tight, killing Bennett. "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? Julie Winningham is seen here in this undated photo. Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). [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. 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 described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. 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. 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. 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." Jesperson was dubbed the "Happy Face Killer" for the smiley face drawings he included on a letter he sent to a Portland, Oregon newspaper, in which he bragged about killing women in a spree that began in 1990. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. 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. Editor Note: This is rerun of 2018 post. Dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer or the Craigslist Ripper, the extent of these unsolved crimes is still unknown. Remembering the first known victim of Happy Face serial killer. One of them was to a friend. The oldest child, Melissa, was ten years old. [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. 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 team believes the serial killers are highly sophisticated and communicate with each other on the dark web. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". 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. Jesperson has said that he took 166 lives, but only the above eight murders have been attributed to him. After Jesperson came forward in March 1995, he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder charges for Bennett and Winningham of Camas, Washington, his last known victim. She was a previously-unidentified woman named Patricia Skiple,[12] who, he claimed, was named "Carla" or "Cindy". Her body, which had been strangled and tied up with duct tape, was found on August 30, 1992. Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. Jesperson eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. His blood-alcohol concentrationwas only 0.08 percent. That triggered him. Jesperson reported that he was raped at age 14. "She was very giving. Murderous Keith Hunter Jesperson became known as the Happy Face Killer for his boasting letters to police, signed with a smiley face. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. I just said it, this is close enough," she said. Jesperson claims Rose was a sex worker who entered his truck at a truck stop while he slept. "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. Because of their relationship, authorities connected her death to him. According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. He duct-taped her mouth and hands before raping and strangling her. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the Happy Face Killer, nearly 30 years after her murder. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. He never made it home. Although two different people were originally charged in Bennett's murder, the real killer turned out to be Keith Hunter Jesperson, who the media already knew as "The Happy Face Killer." Jesperson married Rose Hucke on August 2, 1975. She called him a second time, but his cell phone seemed to be out of battery. 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. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. Between 1990 and 1995, eight women died at the hands of Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the Happy Face Killer. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. Remains found in Merced County, California on June 3, 1993, belonged to a Jesperson victim he has said was called "Cindy." After a night of barhopping, Homan headed home at around 10 p.m. with a friend. The day of his disappearance, Homan had been celebrating Oktoberfest with his friends. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. [1], At a very early ageas young as fiveJesperson would capture and torture animals. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. But in the process, she also falsely implicated herself. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. 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. Welzien's friends said he had only three or four drinks, but by the end of the night he seemed very intoxicated. On April 23 in Hamburg and the following weekend in Dusseldorf, the bodies of young men were retrieved from waterways. of Victims 8-185 killed 5 attempted Span of crimes 1995/1966-March 10, 1995 (confirmed) Criminal Charges In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. All calls are toll-free and confidential. A "witchy" smiley face left at a murder site of the supposed "Smiley Face Serial Killer" seems to represent Charlie Manson. She was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison with a 10-year minimum served. A smiley face was found spray-painted near where Homans body was found. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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." [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson, whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. While he has claimed to have killed as many as 160 people, only eight murders have been confirmed. He was reported missing later that day by his mother, and a massive manhunt ensued. Keith Hunter Jesperson (born 6 April 1955) is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the early 1990s. The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. Investigators believedhe could have walked to the edge of Lake Michigan, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and fallen in. As she and Sosnovske started their life sentences, one of the United States' most notorious serial killers continued his murder spree. He was reported missing later that day by his mother, and a massive manhunt ensued. But Pavlinac claimed she knew where she and Sosnovske had left Bennett's body in the Columbia Gorge outside of town, and took investigators to the exact remote wooded area where Bennett was found. Canadian-American serial killer (born 1955), "Happy Face Killer" redirects here. No serial killer loose in Boston, police say, as another man vanishes; Here Are 6 Of The Alleged Victims Of The 'Smiley Face Killings' Is a Serial-Killer Gang Murdering Young Men Across the U.S.? To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. Jesperson is serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. 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. Jesperson worked as a truck driver to support the family. went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. 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. He would often get into trouble for behaving badly, sometimes violently, and would be severely punished by his father. However, a part of him wanted to claim credit, so he wrote about murdering Bennett in a bus terminal bathroom. Victim 5: California Jane Doe. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. She later rescinded her confession, but in 1991 a jury still found her guilty. Victims of the Smiley Face Killer | Photo Credits: Oxygen The Team of Men that Came Up With the Theory. 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. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. 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. She also said she was able to point to the location of Bennett's body based on where the brush had been cleared away. 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. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an. The body of a woman found near Gilroy, California was this week identified as Patricia Skiple, a victim of the Happy Face Killer. 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. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the "Happy Face Killer," nearly 30 years after her murder. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. California 'Happy Face Killer' victim identified after 29 years By Associated Press 8:06am Apr 20, 2022 A victim of the Happy Face Killer has been identified nearly 30 years after her body was left near a California highway, authorities said this week. Jesperson claims that her name was Susanne. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. Per Courthouse News Service, Slagle is a registered nurse and grandmother residing in Chico, Calif. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. That's when they said she implicated herself in the murder, according to Det. His victims, who were often raped and strangled, included short-term acquaintances, sex workers and a girlfriend. 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[1] 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. "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. These convictions meant Jesperson was unlikely to ever face charges for his crime. However, the kicker is that these drownings happening in 11 different states. In 1990, Taunja Bennett was found dead near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. In September 1994, the body of a woman was found in Florida. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. The production features interviews between, Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.. One New York serial killer has been plying his grisly trade for over twenty years now, killing at least ten victims between 1996 and 2010, and possibly more we haven't yet discovered. One of them was to a friendwho said she heard Geib say, "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. Geib's body was found three weeks later in a lake that had previously been searched. "Then it becameserious,a seriousargument. Smiley faces again served as his signature, prompting a journalist to dub Jesperson the "Happy Face Killer.". Jesperson killed his next victim in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California. . On Monday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff . GILROY (CBS SF/AP) A victim of the Happy Face Killer has been identified nearly 30 years after her body was left near a rural Gilroy highway . His death was ruled an undetermined drowning. Sosnovske pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. Her real name remains a mystery. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. But to Melissa Moore, he was more than just a serial killer . We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. At the time of the incident, the females body was dressed in blue clothing and her identity was unknown, they wrote. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. Jesperson became a suspect after Winningham's was found since he was known to be her boyfriend. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. [26], In 2008, Moore published a book titled Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter. Before serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, known by his nickname "Happy Face Killer," turned himself in, authorities believed they had solved the murder of his first victim Taunja Bennett. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. 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. According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the water. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department announced. Police have not saidif a smiley face was present near the death site. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. He later claimed his intention was to kill the boy. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. '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. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. The body of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was found in this remote woodland near the Columbia Gorge in 1990. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California. The Smiley Face Killers. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. Moore recounts living with Jesperson until her parents' 1990 divorce, and noticing how her father was different when she was in elementary school. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Due to the unknown identity of the female adult, Cold Case Detectives later referred to Jane Doe as Blue Pacheco.. "He says, 'Because I choked her' I said, 'I think weneed to take her to a hospital.