His friend told him to get out of the car while he parked. According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous confessions signed with a smiley face. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. 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". Laverne Pavlinac is seen here showing investigators where Taunja Bennett's body was found, even though she had nothing to do with the crime. Welzien told his friends he wanted to call it a night and go back to the hotel where they were staying. Jesperson claims that her name was Susanne. First, she told investigators that she knew Sosnovske did it because she saw Bennett's body, said Ingram. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. 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. ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. 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. [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. Dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer or the Craigslist Ripper, the extent of these unsolved crimes is still unknown. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. Moore recounts living with Jesperson until her parents' 1990 divorce, and noticing how her father was different when she was in elementary school. 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. I'll go to death row.'". [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. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. April 18, 2022, at 9:19 p.m. California 'Happy Face Killer' Victim ID'd After 29 Years. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson. The smiley face murder theory (also known as the smiley face murders, smiley face killings, and smiley face gang) is a theory advanced by retired New York City detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, as well as Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor and gang expert at St. They'd mostly all been college-aged, popular, and athletic. He was a 21-year-old student at Fordham University, and his body was found in. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. But it was all a lie. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review He strangled her and left her corpse in Oregon. Detectives first became aware of Pavlinac when she anonymously called them to report that she overheard Sosnovske at a bar bragging about killing Bennett. Jesperson was a. A smiley face was found painted near the river. 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 maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. His older daughter has described witnessing acts of animal cruelty that included Jesperson killing kittens. Some say the Smiley Face Killer has taken 40 victims over two decades. 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. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. Pavlinac told investigators during her last recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and incarceration for life. 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 book I: the Creation of a Serial Killer (2002), by Jack Olsen, delved into Jesperson's life. In 1975, when Jesperson was aged 20, he married Rose Hucke, and the couple had three children: two daughters and one son. Safety in numbers is the name of the game, before, during and after a night out on the town. Jesperson claims Rose was a sex worker who entered his truck at a truck stop while he slept. But a few days later, they got another call from Pavlinac. While he has claimed to have killed as many as 160 people, only eight murders have been confirmed. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! "I don't think she was in love with him. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child. Geib's body was found three weeks later in a lake that had previously been searched. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. 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. Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. Murderous Keith Hunter Jesperson became known as the Happy Face Killer for his boasting letters to police, signed with a smiley face. 45 colleged-aged males across a 20-year span. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. ". 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. After moving to Selah, Washington, United States, he had trouble fitting in and making friends because of his large size. "I [had] seen all these tracks and all this and that. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. 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. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an. While in custody, Jesperson shared details of his eight murders. [5], That desire manifested in two attempted murders. His blood-alcohol concentrationwas only 0.08 percent. In April 1990, he sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape. Buddy up at all times. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. Mahoney drove to the address, but Hurley was not there. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. He enjoyed watching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got from taking their lives. "She was very giving. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. 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. All drowned after getting intoxicated. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and, During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been . [10] Jesperson soon realized that this job afforded him the opportunity to kill without being suspected. Questions Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice Hopes to Answer, A First Look at the Murder of Susan Berman. Jesperson claims he killed her after she tried to double charge him for sex, according to Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer.. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. ". Possible Smiley Face killers victim Mason Cox. 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. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. 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. The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . Her real name remains a mystery. Victim 3:Cynthia Lyn Rose, 32, was found dead in September 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. Skiples remains were found on the side of. '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.