In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department announced. Courtesy of Kathy 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. 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. His father often punished Jesperson by hitting him with a leather belt. Her identity remains unknown. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Keith Hunter Jesperson committed his first murder in 1990. Jesperson's last victim was Julie Winningham, who'd been his girlfriend. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. April 19, 2022 / 7:43 AM / CBS San Francisco. More than a dozen of these cases have been outlined in Gannon and Gilbertson's book "Case Studies in Drowning Forensics," but there are six deaths in particular that stand out as potential Smiley Face murders: Dakota James was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. 10 Creepiest Photos Of Victims Taken By Serial Killers - Listverse During the drive, Welzien started throwing up. How Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson Terrorized America April 19, 2022, 7:31 PM PDT. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. In both cases, and as per usual . The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. 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 . Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. 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]. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California. 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. 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. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson, whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. Keith Hunter Jesperson, The Sad Story of the Happy Face Killer Stories about . 'Happy Face Killer's' daughter believes he would kill again if released Between 1990-1995, a series of murders were discovered over several states, all with a very similar MO. He strapped the woman beneath his big rig, the New York Post reported. The book I: the Creation of a Serial Killer (2002), by Jack Olsen, delved into Jesperson's life. 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. They had three children, two girls and a boy. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. Smiley Face Killer Theory: The Evidence For And Against 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. , who survived a violent encounter with Jesperson when she was 21. Santa. That triggered him. April 18, 2022, at 9:19 p.m. California 'Happy Face Killer' Victim ID'd After 29 Years. She was killed in Washington state on March 10, 1995, and her body was discovered the next day. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Victims of the Smiley Face Killer | Photo Credits: Oxygen The Team of Men that Came Up With the Theory. A Navy veteran, 24-year-old William Hurley went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. Jesperson's last victim was the crime that ultimately led to his capture. Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. Victim 8: Julia Ann Winningham, 41. But a few days later, they got another call from Pavlinac. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Jesperson's father denied being an abusive parent; however, while investigating for his book on the killer, author Jack Olsen was able to confirm much of the claimed abuse with other family members. His victims, who were often raped and strangled, included short-term acquaintances, sex workers and a girlfriend. His boss informed his family, who filed a missing persons report 72 hours later. GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. Jesperson sent the photo to the Duquesne University students. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the "Happy Face Killer," nearly 30 years after her murder. "Now, I'm thinking, 'She's confessed she's pointed out the dump site, she's confessed to us on tape. For example, the Canadian-American serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the . M. William Phelps penned a memoir about his interactions with Jesperson: Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer (2017). [He said,] 'No, no. The Chilling Story Behind the 1999 Smiley Face Murders And she [said], 'Well, they told me I had to tell you thisbecauseif I told you then they would believe me,'" Carpenter said. of Victims 8-185 killed 5 attempted Span of crimes 1995/1966-March 10, 1995 (confirmed) Criminal Charges California 'Happy Face Killer' victim identified after 29 years - 9News Pavlinac told investigators during her last recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". Keith Hunter Jesperson - Wikipedia When Mahoney called Hurley to find out where he was waiting, Mahoney said he answered the phone, and she heard him ask someone where he was located. [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. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. Pavlinac's son also died shortly after due to medical reasons. Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as "The Happy Face Killer ," is serving a life sentence in prison today. Jesperson claims Rose was a sex worker who entered his truck at a truck stop while he slept. "I don't think she was in love with him. 'Happy Face Killer' Victim Identified 30 years After Body Found Near Remains found in Merced County, California on June 3, 1993, belonged to a Jesperson victim he has said was called "Cindy." Jesperson claims he killed her after she tried to double charge him for sex, according to Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer., Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. Photo: California 'Happy Face Killer' victim ID'd after 29 years - Yahoo! Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. Jesperson had dated before her before killing her on March 3, 1995 because he believed she was after his money. The following morning, James did not show up for work. What doesn't make sense is that many of the 40 cases the investigators have looked into have puzzling evidence. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? But to Melissa Moore, he was more than just a serial killer . 'Happy Face Killer' Bay Area murder victim identified - SFGATE was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Editor Note: This is rerun of 2018 post. Hunting Down Privileged Men: The Smiley Face Killings Pavlinac and Sosnovske were both arrested on 5 March 1990 and both were convicted of the murder on 8 February 1991. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. Police saidthere were no signs of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. . 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." FILE - Accused murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, dubbed the Happy Face Killer, right, listens to his attorney . Victim 2: California Jane Doe. [00:02:14] The team believes the serial killers are highly sophisticated and communicate with each other on the dark web. Smiley Face Murders: More Victims, A Mother's Torment and Strange The first happened when Jesperson was around age 10, when he was friends with a boy named Martin. 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. . Canadian-American serial killer (born 1955), "Happy Face Killer" redirects here. "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. However, the kicker is that these drownings happening in 11 different states. "She was a free spirit, and she would go here, there, and she would go to work at a place, and wouldn't work for very long because she would always go out on the road. Director Rick Bota Writer Richard Christian Matheson Stars David Arquette Gloria Reuben Daryl Shuttleworth See production, box office & company info 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. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. 'Life After Happy Face': Serial killer's daughter and expert According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, when Booth was found, his body was in full rigor mortis, which normallydissipates within 24 to 36 hours after death. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. First, she told investigators that she knew Sosnovske did it because she saw Bennett's body, said Ingram. California 'Happy Face Killer' victim ID'd after 29 years This led Jesperson to violently attack Martin until his father pulled him away. are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. At the time of the incident, the females body was dressed in blue clothing and her identity was unknown, they wrote. [11] Jesperson gives the Jane Doe's name as Claudia. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. PHOTO: Justice for Mason/Facebook. The Happy Face Killer: The Truth About Keith Jesperson's Childhood Jesperson claims he killed her after she tried to double charge him for sex, according to Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer.. Before his arrest, he also wrote a letter to his brother that admitted, "I am sorry that I turned out this way. ET on ABC. The 'smiley face' murder theory: They didn't - Mysteriesrunsolved The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . The Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson - Medium And that's how I remember her," said Melissa Gavin, her longtime friend. [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. 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, also called the "Happy Face Killer", who is serving two life sentences in Oregon in connection with guilty pleas to two murders. Soon after Angela Subrize ran into Jesperson at a bar in Spokane, Washington in January 1995, she traveled east with him in his truck. One of them was to a friendwho said she heard Geib say, "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. I thought, 'Oh my God, it felt like I put my mother in jail.'". Welzien's friends said he had only three or four drinks, but by the end of the night he seemed very intoxicated. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. But in the process, she also falsely implicated herself. Jespersons heinous crimes as well as shocking twists in the case including a, couple who took the blame for one of his homicides. In September 1994, the body of a woman was found in Florida. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? 'Happy Face' Serial Killer Victim Identified Nearly 30 Years After Her 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. She had changed her story so many times that investigators said they wondered if she was telling the truth. While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. He duct-taped her mouth and hands before raping and strangling her. 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. 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. The message was signed with a smiley face. I will be writing about that more in the future so stay tuned. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. John Ingram, who worked on the case. 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. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! He was sentenced to life in prison while Pavlinac was sentenced to no less than ten years, much more than she had anticipated. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend. Jespersons fifth victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida. When that did not create the attention he desired, he wrote letters to media outlets and police departments confessing to his murders, starting with a six-page letter to The Oregonian in which he revealed the details of his killings. . , 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. One day, she watched, horrified, as he hung stray kittens from the family's clothesline. Buddy up at all times. 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. Geib's body was found three weeks later in a lake that had previously been searched. 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. 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. He is serving three consecutive life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. The day of his disappearance, Homan had been celebrating Oktoberfest with his friends. That letter-writer turned out to be. 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. B. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. 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. 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. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. Victim 5: California Jane Doe. She claimed to have found a strange purse in the trunk of her car with a piece of denim from a pair of jeans inside -- When Bennett was found, her purse was gone and her jeans were missing the fly. The Smiley Face Killer. "I sometimes now wonder, if he was freed now, if he was released, would he kill again? Laverne Pavlinac convinced investigators she and John Sosnovske had killed Taunja Bennett, when they hadn't. Remembering the first known victim of Happy Face serial killer. Six days after his disappearance,Hurley's body was foundin the Charles River, close to where he asked Mahoney to pick him up. 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. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. Jesperson reported that he was raped at age 14. Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. [4] Because of this, Jesperson was a shy child, content to play by himself much of the time. Bennett was found strangled to death near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. 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. The 'Smiley Face Killer' Theory That Connects 40 College Students Mahoney drove to the address, but Hurley was not there. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. [1], At a very early ageas young as fiveJesperson would capture and torture animals. Are the Smiley Face Killers Real? - A&E True Crime The Happy Face Killer | Medium Jesperson attempted suicide but ended up confessing to Winningham's murder. I'll hurt your family.'". 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. That this never happened. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. Possible Smiley Face killers victim Mason Cox. Due to the unknown identity of the female adult, Cold Case Detectives later referred to Jane Doe as Blue Pacheco.. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. [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. "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. That's whyall ofthis doesn'tmake sense. [10][14], Jesperson was arrested on 30 March 1995 for the murder of Julie Winningham. 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.