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 . whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. When investigators asked him why he decided to come forward, Jesperson listed two reasons. 2. Victim 2: California Jane Doe. [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. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review 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. Laverne Pavlinac is seen here showing investigators where Taunja Bennett's body was found, even though she had nothing to do with the crime. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. 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. She was a previously-unidentified woman named Patricia Skiple,[12] who, he claimed, was named "Carla" or "Cindy". 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. [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. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. Jesperson has said that he took 166 lives, but only the above eight murders have been attributed to him. Criminal profiler Pat Brown calls the serial killer theory "ludicrous", arguing that the evidence does not fit what is known about serial killers. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. In April 1990, he sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape. One of them was to a friendwho said she heard Geib say, "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. In November 1995, a judge released Pavlinac and Sosnovske from prison. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California. She also said she was able to point to the location of Bennett's body based on where the brush had been cleared away. Others say there is no killer. "I [had] seen all these tracks and all this and that. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. 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 a. Welzien told his friends he wanted to call it a night and go back to the hotel where they were staying. 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. Pavlinac and Sosnovske were released from prison in November 1995. 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. "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. 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 was a mother and approximately 45 years old at the time she was killed. Officials did not implicate the band member in Homan's death. But a few days later, they got another call from Pavlinac. Brown also believes that the smiley face images found in some of the cases are likely nothing more than coincidences based upon making a guess at where the body entered the water and searching a wide . Jesperson is serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon. Police saidthere were no signs of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. This led Jesperson to violently attack Martin until his father pulled him away. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. "He says, 'Because I choked her' I said, 'I think weneed to take her to a hospital. His victims, who were often raped and strangled, included short-term acquaintances, sex workers and a girlfriend. 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. Their work has spawned an Oxygen series, Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice, which aired in January 2019. 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. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. ET on ABC. Rather than fall victim to the trauma surrounding her father's crimes and arrest, she processed the events. Jesperson was a middle child, with an older sister and brother and a younger sister and brother. The victims were predominately white, male, athletic ("3.5 and above star athletes," according to Gannon), and young from 17 to early 20s. He introduced himself to Bennett at a bar and invited her to a house he was renting. In the days following, Jesperson decided that he was certainly going to be arrested, and after two suicide attempts turned himself in hoping it would result in leniency during his sentencing. 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. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend. [1] In addition to murder, Jesperson's criminal history included animal cruelty, arson and sexual assault. "She slapped him. The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. She called him a second time, but his cell phone seemed to be out of battery. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. Julie Winningham is seen here in this undated photo. Moore recounts living with Jesperson until her parents' 1990 divorce, and noticing how her father was different when she was in elementary school. 'Happy Face Killer' Bay Area murder victim finally identified Andrew Chamings , SFGATE April 18, 2022 Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, was 45 at the time of her death in 1993. 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 purse had not been found at the crime scene, and its location was considered information only the killer would know. I knew it had to be around there someplace. The book I: the Creation of a Serial Killer (2002), by Jack Olsen, delved into Jesperson's life. ". Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson. 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. was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. [00:02:14] He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. Keith grew to be a large, imposing man. . Victim 6: Florida Jane Doe. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . He left her remains in Nebraska, though Subrize was likely killed in Wyoming. 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. April 19, 2022, 7:31 PM PDT. 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. "I sometimes now wonder, if he was freed now, if he was released, would he kill again? On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. In. Possible Smiley Face killers victim Mason Cox. 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 . A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. Jesperson became a suspect after Winningham's was found since he was known to be her boyfriend. [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. [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. 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]. Taunja Bennett was the first to die. Jesperson married Rose Hucke on August 2, 1975. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 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 Happy Face Killer's eighth and final victim that would be his downfall. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. He was found guilty of killing Bennett, Pentland, and Winningham and was sentenced to six consecutive and concurrent sentences. She threatened to call the police, and he strangled her. On April 23 in Hamburg and the following weekend in Dusseldorf, the bodies of young men were retrieved from waterways. 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.