The man said "99 Nashua Street, and Hurley said his cell phone battery was going dead. 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. ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. 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]. He enjoyed watching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got from taking their lives. 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. 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. After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. April 18, 2022, at 9:19 p.m. California 'Happy Face Killer' Victim ID'd After 29 Years. 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. The message was signed with a smiley face. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. April 19, 2022, 7:31 PM PDT. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. 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 1990-1995, a series of murders were discovered over several states, all with a very similar MO. 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. That this never happened. They believed his body traveled for almost 10 miles and even went through a dam before its discovery. She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' Police have not saidif a smiley face was present near the death site. [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. 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,, To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on. Questions Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice Hopes to Answer, A First Look at the Murder of Susan Berman. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. Because of their relationship, authorities connected her death to him. The purse had not been found at the crime scene, and its location was considered information only the killer would know. Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. He strangled her and left her corpse in Oregon. [5] This continued as he got older. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson. He would go on to share details of the crime on other restroom walls. Jesperson was linked to murdering six other women, some of which remain unknown to this day: an unidentified woman who Jesperson said was named "Claudia" in August 1992 near Blythe, California; Cynthia Lynn Rose in September 1992 in Turlock, California; Lori Ann Pentland in November 1992 in Salem, Oregon; an unidentified woman who Jesperson said was named "Carla" in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California; an unidentified woman who Jesperson said was named "Suzanne" in September 1994 in Crestview, Florida; and Angela Subrize in January 1995 in Laramie County, Wyoming. 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. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. Pavlinac then confessed to her. I wanted to get those two people out of prison," he said in 1995, referring to Pavlinac and Sosnovske. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. Patrick McNeill is thought to be the first victim of the Smiley Face Killers. [33] The episode was released on July 9, 2021. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! They were able to identify her as Skiple on April 13. Detectives first became aware of Pavlinac when she anonymously called them to report that she overheard Sosnovske at a bar bragging about killing Bennett. 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. The body of a woman found near Gilroy, California was this week identified as Patricia Skiple, a victim of the Happy Face Killer. Canadian-American serial killer (born 1955), "Happy Face Killer" redirects here. In the summer of 1992, Jesperson met "Claudia" at a truck checkpoint in California. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. 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. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend. PHOTO: Justice for Mason/Facebook. The only difference was that the American version, operating in the Midwest throughout the 1990s, spray painted a smiley face on his victims. His older daughter has described witnessing acts of animal cruelty that included Jesperson killing kittens. [00:02:05] Hi, everyone. She later rescinded her confession, but in 1991 a jury still found her guilty. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. Jesperson attempted suicide but ended up confessing to Winningham's murder. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. Jesperson claims Rose was a sex worker who entered his truck at a truck stop while he slept. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. "I said 'Why is she dead?'" 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. These convictions meant Jesperson was unlikely to ever face charges for his crime. 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. But in the process, she also falsely implicated herself. In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. 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.? Keith grew to be a large, imposing man. [27] In November 2014, she wrote an article about her father for the BBC.[28]. 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. Laverne Pavlinac convinced investigators she and John Sosnovske had killed Taunja Bennett, when they hadn't. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. 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. Some say the Smiley Face Killer has taken 40 victims over two decades. Jesperson, also called the "Happy Face Killer", who is serving two life sentences in Oregon in connection with guilty pleas to two murders. 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 . We need to report this, John.' To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. One of Welzien's friends, Nick Young, stayed behind. The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department. 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. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. It had been washed ashore on a beach in Gary, Indiana, 30 miles south of Chicago. He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Jesperson claims he killed her after she tried to double charge him for sex, according to Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer.. That letter-writer turned out to be. Most were strangers and some were sex workers. 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 eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. "He says, 'Because I choked her' I said, 'I think weneed to take her to a hospital. At her trial, Pavlinac recanted her confession, but the jury found her guilty. 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. T he Smiley Face death toll continues to climb, this time in Germany. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. ". Melissa Moore's father, known as the Happy Face Killer, murdered eight or more women. Santa. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! He strapped the woman beneath his big rig,. He left her remains in Nebraska, though Subrize was likely killed in Wyoming. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. After a series of letters are sent to the press, the killer earned the moniker, the Happy Face Killer. His blood-alcohol concentrationwas only 0.08 percent. 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. 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. 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. Skiple was known to family and friends as Patsy, according to the sheriffs department. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. 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 . James' body, however, had almost no visible damage, which was highly suspicious because it had traveled through heavily trafficked river. Jesperson married Rose Hucke on August 2, 1975. . On January 1, 2000, Northern Illinois University junior. At school, Jesperson was bigger than his classmates and was taunted with names like "Monster Man" and "Igor." 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. The morning of October 2, Homan's body was found not far from the shore of the Mississippi River. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The first victim was found in 1997. In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. . Soon after his injury was when Keith started to kill. 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. 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. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. 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. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and incarceration for life. Pavlinac's daughters said their mother "was never the same" after she divorced their father after discovering he left her for another woman. He split from his wife in 1990 after 15 years of . But it was all a lie. 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. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. They divorced in 1989. Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. , who survived a violent encounter with Jesperson when she was 21. "To come clean get it all over, the record straight. Investigators had been trying to nail down a suspect for weeks when Pavlinac brought Sosnovske to their attention. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. 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 production features interviews betweenJesperson and M. William Phelps, author Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.Italso features an interview with Daun Slagel, who survived a violent encounter with Jesperson when she was 21. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. "She was very giving. Sosnovske pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. , who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. Angela Surbrize was the name of Jesperson's second-to-last victim. 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. Victim 5: California Jane Doe. All calls are toll-free and confidential. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! M. William Phelps penned a memoir about his interactions with Jesperson: Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer (2017). Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. Victim 1: Taunja Bennett. 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." 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. . 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. Published: Apr. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. However, a part of him wanted to claim credit, so he wrote about murdering Bennett in a bus terminal bathroom. 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. And that's how I remember her," said Melissa Gavin, her longtime friend. However, the kicker is that these drownings happening in 11 different states. "Now, I'm thinking, 'She's confessed she's pointed out the dump site, she's confessed to us on tape. 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. [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. She grew up in a small town in Washington state and survived the escalating violence from her home life and. "I don't remember going to no gorge, dumping no body for God's sake. 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." 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. 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. Photo: He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. . Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. After Jesperson was in custody, he provided the location of Bennett's purse, which only the killer would know. 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. [7] He had watched and laughed as the kittens clawed each other to escape, then he killed them. 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. She had changed her story so many times that investigators said they wondered if she was telling the truth. He was sentenced to life in prison while Pavlinac was sentenced to no less than ten years, much more than she had anticipated. After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. He was found guilty of killing Bennett, Pentland, and Winningham and was sentenced to six consecutive and concurrent sentences. 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. 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. That triggered him. 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 said] I better not open my mouth. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. Jesperson's last victim was the crime that ultimately led to his capture. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. 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. Investigators have confirmed that he killed at least 8 people, including the woman now known to be Skiple. 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. An Oregon mother was identified Tuesday as a victim of "the Happy Face Killer" nearly four decades after her body was found on the side of a . She changed her story again, this time to say she too was involved in Bennett's death. Laverne Pavlinac is seen here showing investigators where Taunja Bennett's body was found, even though she had nothing to do with the crime. A smiley face was found painted near the river. She also said she was able to point to the location of Bennett's body based on where the brush had been cleared away. . 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. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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. Jespersons fifth victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida. Updated: Mar 3, 2021 (1955-) Who Is Keith Hunter. Their work has spawned an Oxygen series, Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice, which aired in January 2019. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. Victim 3:Cynthia Lyn Rose, 32, was found dead in September 1992. 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. Jesperson was a. In. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. The production features interviews between, Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.. 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. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. He claimed to have victims in five states: Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Oregon. On January 1, 2000, Northern Illinois University junior Brian Welzien went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . All Rights Reserved. Buddy up at all times. 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. FILE - Accused murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, dubbed the Happy Face Killer, right, listens to his attorney . [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. After a night of barhopping, Homan headed home at around 10 p.m. with a friend. But when investigators were unable to match the purse and denim piece to Bennett, they confronted Pavlinac about fabricating evidence. "I don't think she was in love with him. 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. Victim 8: Julia Ann Winningham, 41. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Before his arrest, he also wrote a letter to his brother that admitted, "I am sorry that I turned out this way. More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. 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. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. I just said it, this is close enough," she said. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. I will be writing about that more in the future so stay tuned. Melissa G. Moore, Jesperson's older daughter, wrote Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killers Daughter (2009). 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. [7] She was a correspondent for Crime Watch Daily.