While police didn't get any hard evidence, the recordings demonstrate how Pavlinac attempted to convince her boyfriend he played a role in Bennett's death. 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. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. 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 she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. Between 1990-1995, a series of murders were discovered over several states, all with a very similar MO. 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. Editor Note: This is rerun of 2018 post. [13] Police originally considered her death a drug overdose. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. That letter-writer turned out to be. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend. "Theyhave her tell me the story and I looked at her again, and I said, 'Mom, are you sure?' 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. Their house bordered an apple orchard, and Jesperson killed stray cats and gophers that wandered nearby. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. Pavlinac and Sosnovske were both arrested on 5 March 1990 and both were convicted of the murder on 8 February 1991. Victim 2: California Jane Doe. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. Or 'I will cause trouble for your family. She found out that her son had reportedly suffered blunt force trauma to the head, his eye socket and behind his left leg. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. 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. Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. He later claimed his intention was to kill the boy. [1] Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. , who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. [10][14], Jesperson was arrested on 30 March 1995 for the murder of Julie Winningham. Jesperson's last victim was the crime that ultimately led to his capture. She also examined her father's actions in the podcast Happy Face. Due to the unknown identity of the female adult, Cold Case Detectives later referred to Jane Doe as Blue Pacheco.. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. Victims of the Smiley Face Killer | Photo Credits: Oxygen The Team of Men that Came Up With the Theory. In 2006, the serial killer submitted a letter to the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office admitting to sexually assaulting and killing an unknown female subject along a dirt turnout on Highway 152, the department wrote in its release, and a year later he pled guilty to killing her. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. The morning of October 2, Homan's body was found not far from the shore of the Mississippi River. She changed her story again, this time to say she too was involved in Bennett's death. 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. 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. I'll hurt your family.'". But it was all a lie. , "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. Oddly,Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the wateras if he had gone for a swim. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. [5] This continued as he got older. 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. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. Pieces of his artwork have been seen on "murderabilia" sites. 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. . Others say there is no killer. Cloud State University. 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. When investigators asked him why he decided to come forward, Jesperson listed two reasons. "To come clean get it all over, the record straight. Several years later, Hucke began to suspect Jesperson was having affairs when strange women would call. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an early age which included torturing animals and attacking other children. "I don't remember going to no gorge, dumping no body for God's sake. Pavlinac set up a meeting with investigators and gave a false confession, using the details she had read in the newspaper to give a detailed story of how Sosnovske forced her to help him rape, murder, and dispose of Bennett's body. Sosnovske pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges to avoid the possibility of a death sentence and was sentenced to life in prison. The man said "99 Nashua Street, and Hurley said his cell phone battery was going dead. The body of a woman found near Gilroy, California was this week identified as Patricia Skiple, a victim of the Happy Face Killer. ". The Smiley Face Killer. Today, we're finishing our look at Keith Jesperson, the twisted murderer otherwise known as the Happy Face Killer. After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. The first happened when Jesperson was around age 10, when he was friends with a boy named Martin. For example, the Canadian-American serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the . However, the kicker is that these drownings happening in 11 different states. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. I will be writing about that more in the future so stay tuned. 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. On January 1, 2000, Northern Illinois University junior Brian Welzien went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. Jesperson claims Rose was a sex worker who entered his truck at a truck stop while he slept. Keith Hunter Jesperson committed his first murder in 1990. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. 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. He slapped her. A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. "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. 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. went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. 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. . Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. Homan did not arrive for a golf outing the next day. 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. The first victim was found in 1997. Director Rick Bota Writer Richard Christian Matheson Stars David Arquette Gloria Reuben Daryl Shuttleworth See production, box office & company info Authorities came to believe they had convicted the wrong people. [6] Approximately one year later, Jesperson was swimming in a lake when another boy held him underwater until he blacked out. He strangled her and left her corpse in Oregon. Her actual identity is unknown, but "Susanna" which Jesperson has stated may have been her name was confirmed to be one of his victims because he knew about the tie wraps found around her throat. [18], Early in the investigation of Bennett's murder, Laverne Pavlinac read the news reports surrounding Bennett's death and saw it as an opportunity to force an end to the long-term abusive relationship she had been in with her live-in boyfriend, John Sosnovske. 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. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. Because of their relationship, authorities connected her death to him. There, he assaulted, beat and strangled her. I wanted to get those two people out of prison," he said in 1995, referring to Pavlinac and Sosnovske. According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the water. 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". Angela Surbrize was the name of Jesperson's second-to-last victim. The day of his disappearance, Homan had been celebrating Oktoberfest with his friends. After the body of his first victim, Taunja Bennett, was found, media attention surrounded Laverne Pavlinac, a woman who falsely confessed to having killed Bennett with the help of her abusive boyfriend, John Sosnovske. And they were laughing," Pavlinac told investigators. Sometimes they even brag about it. Welzien's friends said he had only three or four drinks, but by the end of the night he seemed very intoxicated. His death was ruled an undetermined drowning. . 'Happy Face Killer' case tapes reveal the lengths woman went to frame boyfriend Meanwhile, the real killer carried out a series of murders over five years. 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. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. Welzien's friends said he had only three or four drinks, but by the end of the night he seemed very intoxicated. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California. .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. Six days after his disappearance,Hurley's body was foundin the Charles River, close to where he asked Mahoney to pick him up. 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. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. [10] Jesperson soon realized that this job afforded him the opportunity to kill without being suspected. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? His older daughter has described witnessing acts of animal cruelty that included Jesperson killing kittens. Jesperson eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. Investigators said there wasno sign 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. Join Melissa Moore, host of Happy Face Season 1, as she helps Becky unravel the strange tale of her family, searching for answers to decades-old mysteries that remain unanswered in the modern day. The book I: the Creation of a Serial Killer (2002), by Jack Olsen, delved into Jesperson's life. Meanwhile, the real killer carried out a series of murders over five years. 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. "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. At the time of the incident, the females body was dressed in blue clothing and her identity was unknown, they wrote. At school, Jesperson was bigger than his classmates and was taunted with names like "Monster Man" and "Igor." are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. 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. "Now, I'm thinking, 'She's confessed she's pointed out the dump site, she's confessed to us on tape. The police gave him the nickname "The Happy Face Killer" as he would leave a happy face on his confession letters to the media. Sometime around 1957, Glatman posted Lonely Hearts adverts in newspapers to lure his victims in addition to prowling modeling agencies in Los Angeles, eventually posing as a photographer himself. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. 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. His brothers did not help him, instead they nicknamed him "Igor" or "Ig", a name that stuck throughout his school years. He met the developmentally disabled Bennett while out drinking and convinced her to go to his house. 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. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. As a child, he was cruel to animals he killed cats and snakes and, under the guise of hunting, inflicted pain on creatures like deer, rabbits, and coyotes. The couple divorced in 1990.[8]. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. But a few days later, they got another call from Pavlinac. Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. 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. In both cases, and as per usual . Sosnovske pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. Jesperson met her in a bar in January 1995 and agreed to give her a ride before eventually killing her. That letter-writer turned out to be Keith Hunter Jesperson, who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review 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. 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. 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 was a. 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. As she and Sosnovske started their life sentences, one of the United States' most notorious serial killers continued his murder spree. Happy Face stands out because of Moore 's intimate tie to the criminal in question. To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. 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.? She threatened to call the police, and he strangled her. I'll go to death row.'". 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. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been . Tommy Booth, 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. Possible Smiley Face killers victim Mason Cox. Pavlinac seemed to know intimate details about the case. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. Jesperson has said that he took 166 lives, but only the above eight murders have been attributed to him. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. She was a mother and approximately 45 years old at the time she was killed. "I sometimes now wonder, if he was freed now, if he was released, would he kill again? The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . Jesperson murdered another woman in August 1992 at a Turlock, California truck stop. 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. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and, During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. He enjoyed watching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got from taking their lives. The only difference was that the American version, operating in the Midwest throughout the 1990s, spray painted a smiley face on his victims. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. In. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. 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. 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. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. 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. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. "He says, 'Because I choked her' I said, 'I think weneed to take her to a hospital. He was reported missing later that day by his mother, and a massive manhunt ensued. That triggered him. They met at a truck stop in Corning, California. 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 . She called him a second time, but his cell phone seemed to be out of battery. 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. Best Known For: Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. He had been questioned by police a week before, but they had no grounds to arrest him after he refused to talk. He strapped the woman beneath his big rig, the New York Post reported. In later years, Jesperson also sent anonymous letters to The Oregonian newspaper about what had become his multiple murders. After moving to Selah, Washington, United States, he had trouble fitting in and making friends because of his large size. 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. 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 resides in the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he spends much of his time making art. 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 spray painted on an underpass near where James body was discovered. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. 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. The production features interviews between, Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.. 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 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. 45 colleged-aged males across a 20-year span. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and prosecutors. After a series of letters are sent to the press, the killer earned the moniker, the Happy Face Killer. John Ingram, who worked on the case. It had been washed ashore on a beach in Gary, Indiana, 30 miles south of Chicago. Punched her, slapped her. His blood-alcohol concentrationwas only 0.08 percent. Rather than fall victim to the trauma surrounding her father's crimes and arrest, she processed the events. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. 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. Police saidthere were no signs of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. 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. jocks) usually after a night of drinking at a bar are kidnapped, tortured, murdered and then their . She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. Today's episode is part 1 of our coverage of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. He introduced himself to Bennett at a bar and invited her to a house he was renting. 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." In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . His father often punished Jesperson by hitting him with a leather belt. "She slapped him. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. [He said,] 'No, no. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Updated: Mar 3, 2021 (1955-) Who Is Keith Hunter.