Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. Pavlinac's daughters said their mother "was never the same" after she divorced their father after discovering he left her for another woman. After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. FILE - Accused murderer Keith Hunter Jesperson, dubbed the Happy Face Killer, right, listens to his attorney . She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. 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. James' body, however, had almost no visible damage, which was highly suspicious because it had traveled through heavily trafficked river. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Investigators said there wasno sign of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. By Tim Stelloh. Jesperson would capture birds and stray cats and dogs around the trailer park where he lived with his family, severely beating the animals and then strangling them to death, something for which he claims his father was proud of him. [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. 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. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. ". The only difference was that the American version, operating in the Midwest throughout the 1990s, spray painted a smiley face on his victims. Police saidthere were no signs of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. "Her persistence in this manipulation resulted in her own conviction.". His death was ruled an accidental drowning, andthe autopsy report noted"acute alcohol intoxication was a major contributing factor.". are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. ET on ABC. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. Others say there is no killer. [32] The series had 12 episodes. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. Jesperson's first victim, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett, was killed on January 21, 1990. The Insane Details of the Smiley Face Killers Theory; The Most Recent Alleged Smiley Face Killers' Victims Highlight How Long This Theory Has . Welzien told his friends he wanted to call it a night and go back to the hotel where they were staying. Geib's body was found three weeks later in a lake that had previously been searched. Skiple was known to family and friends as Patsy, according to the sheriffs department. 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 . Victim 8: Julia Ann Winningham, 41. [21], Following Bennett's murder, as all the attention was going to Pavlinac and Sosnovske, Jesperson wrote a confession on the bathroom wall of a truck stop and signed it with a smiley face. Officials did not implicate the band member in Homan's death. He never made it home. In November 1995, a judge released Pavlinac and Sosnovske from prison. Buddy up at all times. 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. The term "Smiley Face Killers" come from the graffiti smiley faces supposedly found at the crime scenes. Now 66, Jesperson is serving five non-consecutive life sentences in Oregon's state penitentiary. After Jesperson was in custody, he provided the location of Bennett's purse, which only the killer would know. She would pop in and pop out, and over the years, She was that type of person.". Jesperson met her in a bar in January 1995 and agreed to give her a ride before eventually killing her. 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. [33] The episode was released on July 9, 2021. I'll hurt your family.'". She grew up in a small town in Washington state and survived the escalating violence from her home life and. 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 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. He enjoyed watching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got from taking their lives. 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. 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. [7] He had watched and laughed as the kittens clawed each other to escape, then he killed them. According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. 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. 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. whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. 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. 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. His death was ruleda probable drowning, and there wereno signs of trauma. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. 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. 18, 2022, 3:19 p.m. Patricia Skiple, who lived in Colton, Oregon, has been identified as a victim of Keith Jesperson, the "Happy Face Killer," almost 30 years after Skiple's body . One day, she watched, horrified, as he hung stray kittens from the family's clothesline. "She was very giving. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' 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. She was a mother and approximately 45 years old at the time she was killed. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. M. William Phelps penned a memoir about his interactions with Jesperson: Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer (2017). Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. These convictions meant Jesperson was unlikely to ever face charges for his crime. [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. 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, with whom they corresponded during the fall semester. 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. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. 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. He met the developmentally disabled Bennett while out drinking and convinced her to go to his house. But when investigators were unable to match the purse and denim piece to Bennett, they confronted Pavlinac about fabricating evidence. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. April 19, 2022, 7:31 PM PDT. That's when they said she implicated herself in the murder, according to Det. He is now 66 years old, according to his prison records. She also examined her father's actions in the podcast Happy Face. went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. 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. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been . Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). Questions Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice Hopes to Answer, A First Look at the Murder of Susan Berman. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Investigators have confirmed that he killed at least 8 people, including the woman now known to be Skiple. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. T he Smiley Face death toll continues to climb, this time in Germany. 45 colleged-aged males across a 20-year span. 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. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. Jesperson sent the photo to the Duquesne University students. Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. 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. Photo: , who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. 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. 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. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child. 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. 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. Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads, Birth Year: 1955, Birth date: April 6, 1955, Birth City: British Columbia, Birth Country: Canada. 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. He told investigatorshe could not remember anythingthat happened that night. He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. 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. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. 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. "I said 'Why is she dead?'" He slapped her. She changed her story again, this time to say she too was involved in Bennett's death. Between 1990-1995, a series of murders were discovered over several states, all with a very similar MO. 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. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. Often Keith would dream of becoming an RCMP officer, the power of a position like that appealed to him, but his dream was dashed in 1990 after an injury prevented him from qualifying. According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the water. A Navy veteran, 24-year-old William Hurley went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. According to Gannon and Gilbertson, Homan had various injuries on his head, hands and arms, and they theorized that a mark on his forehead may have been a footprint that was the result of Homan being held down. The purse had not been found at the crime scene, and its location was considered information only the killer would know. Investigators installed a hidden recording device in their home hoping to catch Sosnovske making incriminating statements. Keith Hunter Jesperson, The Sad Story of the Happy Face Killer Stories about . He tries to paint the victim as someone who needed to be killed, Phelps, whose nearly decade-long relationship with the killer gives him insight into Jespersons mind, told producers. 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. His brother gave this letter to law enforcement. 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. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. '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. In addition to murder, Jesperson's criminal history included animal cruelty, arson and sexual assault. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review 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. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. Investigators had been trying to nail down a suspect for weeks when Pavlinac brought Sosnovske to their attention. went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. [7] Jesperson continued to spend time with his children when he was in town. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. "I don't remember going to no gorge, dumping no body for God's sake. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. The Smiley Face Killers. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! Six days after his disappearance,Hurley's body was foundin the Charles River, close to where he asked Mahoney to pick him up. Victim 4:Laurie Ann Pentland, 26. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. A jury had convicted a Portland woman named Laverne Pavlinac based on her detailed confession to police that she helped her boyfriend John Sosnovske rape and kill the 23-year-old. [00:02:14] 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. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson, whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. Jesperson became a suspect after Winningham's was found since he was known to be her boyfriend. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. The body of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was found in this remote woodland near the Columbia Gorge in 1990. [6] Approximately one year later, Jesperson was swimming in a lake when another boy held him underwater until he blacked out. He had a relationship with his final victim and became a suspect after her body was discovered in March 1995. 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. Judge Paul Lipscomb of the Circuit Court of Oregon agreed to vacate Sosnovske's sentence after ruling his no-contest plea violated his constitutional rights because it had not been voluntary since he was facing the death penalty. GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. The victims were predominately white, male, athletic ("3.5 and above star athletes," according to Gannon), and young from 17 to early 20s. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. The Happy Face Killer Raven Gender Male Birth Date April 6, 1955 (age 67) Place of Birth Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada Occupation Truck driver Pathology Serial Killer Serial Rapist Modus Operandi Strangulation Type Disorganized No. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? 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. 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. In September 1994, the body of a woman was found in Florida. Today, we're finishing our look at Keith Jesperson, the twisted murderer otherwise known as the Happy Face Killer. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. Soon after Angela Subrize ran into Jesperson at a bar in Spokane, Washington in January 1995, she traveled east with him in his truck.

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