The message was signed with a smiley face. Due to the unknown identity of the female adult, Cold Case Detectives later referred to Jane Doe as Blue Pacheco.. Pavlinac and Sosnovske were released from prison in November 1995. I wanted to get those two people out of prison," he said in 1995, referring to Pavlinac and Sosnovske. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. 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. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. On 30 August 1992, the currently unidentified body of a woman Jesperson had raped and strangled was found near Blythe, California, United States. 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. He was found guilty of killing Bennett, Pentland, and Winningham and was sentenced to six consecutive and concurrent sentences. The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. He was a 21-year-old student at Fordham University, and his body was found in. 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. 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. 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. Pavlinac's son also died shortly after due to medical reasons. A smiley face was found spray-painted near where Homans body was found. Jesperson sent the photo to the Duquesne University students. Victim 5: California Jane Doe. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. 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. 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. Smiley faces again served as his signature, prompting a journalist to dub Jesperson the "Happy Face Killer.". B. All Rights Reserved. ". I have been a killer for five years and have killed eight people." Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. Today's episode is part 1 of our coverage of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. Jesperson murdered another woman in August 1992 at a Turlock, California truck stop. 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. 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. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. Angela Surbrize was the name of Jesperson's second-to-last victim. After a night of barhopping, Homan headed home at around 10 p.m. with a friend. . Canadian-American serial killer (born 1955), "Happy Face Killer" redirects here. 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 could not find Welzien and reported him missing around 1 p.m. After extensive searches, Welzien's body was found 77 days later on March 17. The morning of October 2, Homan's body was found not far from the shore of the Mississippi River. 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. Skiples remains were found on the side of. of Victims 8-185 killed 5 attempted Span of crimes 1995/1966-March 10, 1995 (confirmed) Criminal Charges Published: Apr. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He slapped her. He introduced himself to Bennett at a bar and invited her to a house he was renting. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. Jespersons heinous crimes as well as shocking twists in the case including a couple who took the blame for one of his homicides are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. I had been worried about this for a long time. The Smiley Face Killer. [5] This continued as he got older. 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. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. . Investigators have confirmed that he killed at least 8 people, including the woman now known to be Skiple. 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. Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). 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. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. A smiley face was paintedon a wall of the bar under a deck. Victims of the Smiley Face Killer | Photo Credits: Oxygen The Team of Men that Came Up With the Theory. His death was ruleda probable drowning, and there wereno signs of trauma. His death was ruled an undetermined drowning. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Her body was found on a roadside rock pile in Santa Nella, California. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the "Happy Face Killer," nearly 30 years after her murder. On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). 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. "She slapped him. 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. "[Julie] was beautiful inside as well as outside. [1], At a very early ageas young as fiveJesperson would capture and torture animals. Some say the Smiley Face Killer has taken 40 victims over two decades. Jesperson was born on April 6, 1955, in British Columbia, Canada. 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. 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]. The body of Julie Winningham, 41, of Camas, Washington, was found alongside a Washington State road in 1995. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. Tommy Booth, 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. One of them was to a friendwho said she heard Geib say, "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. For the 2014 film about Jesperson, see, List of serial killers in the United States, List of serial killers by number of victims, "The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)", "Serial killer receives fourth life sentence", "Dr. Phil Returns to The Oprah Show: My Father Is a Serial Killer", "ABC '20/20': Melissa Moore, Daughter Of Serial Killer, Opens Up Tonight About Life With 'Happy Face Killer' Keith Jesperson", "Meet Crime Watch Daily Correspondent Melissa Moore | Truecrimedaily.com", "My evil dad: Life as a serial killer's daughter", "Happy Face Presents: Two Face on Apple Podcasts", "Life After Happy Face on Apple Podcasts", Daughter of the 'Happy Face Killer' Talks About Growing Up With a Serial Killer Dad, Keith Hunter Jesperson: Happy Face Killer, Daughter of serial killer confronts her past, Radio Interview with Melissa Moore (daughter), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Keith_Hunter_Jesperson&oldid=1142498372, American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Canadian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, Crimes against sex workers in the United States, People extradited within the United States, Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Oregon, Violence against women in the United States, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from November 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 8 confirmed (confessed to as many as 185). Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. His brother gave this letter to law enforcement. 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. More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. . ". I'll hurt your family.'". Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. She ran to get her mother, and when they returned, the kittens lay on the ground dead. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been . "I think what happened to mother was she was in an abusive relationship, and she was desperate, and desperate people do desperate things, not to say that it was right, but that's what I think happened," said Pavlinac's daughter Bonne McAlpine. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. Possible Smiley Face killers victim Mason Cox. Notorious serial killer Keith Jesperson, better known by the "Happy Face Killer" nickname he was given in the '90s, has spent decades behind bars but his daughter believes he would kill again if released from prison today. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. 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. Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. In addition to murder, Jesperson's criminal history included animal cruelty, arson and sexual assault. Pavlinac seemed to know intimate details about the case. Per Courthouse News Service, Slagle is a registered nurse and grandmother residing in Chico, Calif. Upset that he was not getting any media attention, Jesperson drew a smiley face on a bathroom wall hundreds of miles from the scene of the crime and wrote an anonymous letter confessing to Bennett's murder, providing proof. 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. Laverne Pavlinac convinced investigators she and John Sosnovske had killed Taunja Bennett, when they hadn't. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been known only as "Blue Pacheco" for the color of her clothing until genetic genealogy was used to identify her last week, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said. Remains found in Merced County, California on June 3, 1993, belonged to a Jesperson victim he has said was called "Cindy." Jesperson is currently serving a sentence of life without parole at the Oregon State Penitentiary. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". Pieces of his artwork have been seen on "murderabilia" sites. [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. At the time of the incident, the females body was dressed in blue clothing and her identity was unknown, they wrote. Jesperson was a. "She was that kind of woman. After Jesperson was in custody, he provided the location of Bennett's purse, which only the killer would know. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. April 18, 2022, at 9:19 p.m. California 'Happy Face Killer' Victim ID'd After 29 Years. He would go on to share details of the crime on other restroom walls. Now 66, Jesperson is serving five non-consecutive life sentences in Oregon's state penitentiary. On January 1, 2000, Northern Illinois University junior. He was reported missing later that day by his mother, and a massive manhunt ensued. After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. Investigators believedhe could have walked to the edge of Lake Michigan, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and fallen in. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Cloud State University. 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, , 26. Before serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, known by his nickname "Happy Face Killer," turned himself in, authorities believed they had solved the murder of his first victim Taunja Bennett. "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. She then reported Hurley missing, and various searches were conducted. , 32, was found dead in September 1992. Soon after his injury was when Keith started to kill. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! [6] Approximately one year later, Jesperson was swimming in a lake when another boy held him underwater until he blacked out. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. The term "Smiley Face Killers" come from the graffiti smiley faces supposedly found at the crime scenes. That's when they said she implicated herself in the murder, according to Det. 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The Insane Details of the Smiley Face Killers Theory; The Most Recent Alleged Smiley Face Killers' Victims Highlight How Long This Theory Has . Jesperson attempted suicide but ended up confessing to Winningham's murder. M. William Phelps penned a memoir about his interactions with Jesperson: Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer (2017). Gannon and Gilbertson also notedthe body appeared to have been staged three sticks were strategically placed around his body, and there were shoe and drag marks in the soil. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . Officials did not implicate the band member in Homan's death. Pavlinac's daughters said their mother "was never the same" after she divorced their father after discovering he left her for another woman. He had been questioned by police a week before, but they had no grounds to arrest him after he refused to talk. Questions Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice Hopes to Answer, A First Look at the Murder of Susan Berman. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson. [4] Because of this, Jesperson was a shy child, content to play by himself much of the time. They had three children, two girls and a boy. This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. Jesperson has said that he took 166 lives, but only the above eight murders have been attributed to him. He split from his wife in 1990 after 15 years of . 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. 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." was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. But to Melissa Moore, he was more than just a serial killer . I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. 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. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the Happy Face Killer, nearly 30 years after her murder. went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. A television movie, Happy Face Killer, starring David Arquette as Jesperson, aired in 2014. He was sentenced to life in prison while Pavlinac was sentenced to no less than ten years, much more than she had anticipated. He never made it home. 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. Victim 3:Cynthia Lyn Rose, 32, was found dead in September 1992. The police gave him the nickname "The Happy Face Killer" as he would leave a happy face on his confession letters to the media. 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. While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. I thought, 'Oh my God, it felt like I put my mother in jail.'". Investigators said there wasno sign of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. . "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. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson, whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. Photo: The Smiley Face Killers. 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. He would often get into trouble for behaving badly, sometimes violently, and would be severely punished by his father. In 1990, Taunja Bennett was found dead near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. Remembering the first known victim of Happy Face serial killer. Soon after Angela Subrize ran into Jesperson at a bar in Spokane, Washington in January 1995, she traveled east with him in his truck. Geib's remains also had very little signs of decomposition, which would have been present if he had died the day he went missing 22 days before the recovery of his body. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. '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. During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous confessions signed with a smiley face. 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. Jesperson killed his next victim in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California. [32] The series had 12 episodes. Todd 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. Welzien's friends said he had only three or four drinks, but by the end of the night he seemed very intoxicated. The Smiley Face Killers. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? "The greatest human tragedy is that Laverne Pavlinac derailed the investigation in 1990, and in four years, Keith Jesperson killed more women," said Jim McIntyre, the Multnomah County, Oregon, prosecutor who handled the cases. One day, she watched, horrified, as he hung stray kittens from the family's clothesline. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review Her body, which had been strangled and tied up with duct tape, was found on August 30, 1992. "Now, I'm thinking, 'She's confessed she's pointed out the dump site, she's confessed to us on tape. Because of their relationship, authorities connected her death to him. Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? 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. By Tim Stelloh. serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, with whom they corresponded during the fall semester. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. 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. The purse had not been found at the crime scene, and its location was considered information only the killer would know. He is now 66 years old, according to his prison records. Jesperson grew up in Chilliwack, Canada before moving to Selah, Washington with his family when he was 12. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities.
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