The Happy
Face Killer
Keith Hunter Jespersen
“I know how to kill someone and get away with it.”
Why was he called the happy face killer?
Why did he start killing?
 He wrote letters to the media confessing to the murders.
 It started with a six page letter to the police and would sign each
with a happy face.
 Wrote a confession to the murder of Taunja Bennett (1st victim).
(more info on the subject to come)
 He started his 5 year killing spree when his wife got a divorce.
 He was a truck driver and would engage women into small talk gain
their trust, then rape, strangle, murder them and the dump the
bodies far away from the area they were killed at.
 Happy face killer.com and Department of psychology Radford VA
How he operated
 He was a truck driver and would engage women into small talk gain their
trust, then rape, strangle, murder them and the dump the bodies far away
from the area they were killed at.
Basic information
 Born April 16 1995
 Serial killer from 1990-1995
 Locations from , California, Washington Florida, and
Oregon.
 8 victims all women ages 21,23,26,32,40,and 41.
 Strangle and rape his victims.
 Caught by police march 30 1995.
 Convicted October 1995.
Department of psychology Radford VA
True crime report.com.
Childhood
 Born April 6 1995 in British Columbia
 At the age of 5 he began killing small animals (cats, He would bash in
gopher heads,)
 He suffered from both psyological and psychological abuse from his father.
 His father shocked him in a greenhouse with 12 volts however Keith claims it
was 220 volts. His father was also a drunk and looked down on women.
 He started shoplifting in 7th grade.
 Never went to collage IQ of 102.
 Shot an arrow with exploding tip at the house of one of his teachers at the
age of 14.
 Department of psychology Radford VA
Taunja Bennett victim #1.
 Taunja Bennett was 23 years old. She met Keith at a bar in Portland
Oregon on January 23 1990.
 He offered to buy her a drink and then the went to his house and
things took a wrong turn.
 He placed his hand around her neck then strangled her with rope and
watched the life leave her body.
 After killing her he went to the bar had a few more drinks then returned
home to retrieve the body, he then drove outside of Portland to the
Colombia river gourge near crown point and dumped the body.
 Her body was found a few days later.
 Department of psychology Radford VA
Victim #2, and 3
 Claudia AKA, (Jane Doe) in Blythe, California.
She was raped and choked to death. Between
July or August 1992. even though murderpedia
said august.
 Cynthia Lyn rose, Keith killed her because
according to him she snuck into his truck when
he was sleeping and wanted sex . He told her
he was not interested. He later told police
when he sent a letter that said she was a
prostitute that he picked up and murdered.
Body found September 1992.
 Serial killer pod cast, murderpedia.
Victim #4, 5, and 6.
 Laurie Ann Pentland was murdered when she wanted to
charged him double the price for sex and threatened to
call the police first week of November 1992. in Salem,
Oregon.
 Jane doe 1993 police thought she died of a drug
overdose. Body found in Santa nella, California.
 The Doe Network: says Jespersen killed 10-12 women and
it was in Santa Clara not Santa nella like Department of
psychology Radford VA. Said.
 Jane doe found west of crestwiew, Florida September 14
1994. Keith claimed her name was Susanne.
Jane doe Reconstruction of Victim
believed to be Jane doe 1993.
Jane doe- name given
to someone dead if they
can not be identified.
Victim #7. Angela surbrize.
 Keith Jespersen picked up Angela near Spokane
Washington in January 1995.
 Rode with him for a week; Her plan was to get a ride to
Indiana to see her boyfriend. He raped and then
strangled her
 Then when you thought it could not get any more
dreadful it took a turn for the worse.
 He tied her body underneath his truck face down and
drove to grind off her face and prints.
 Department of psychology Radford VA.
Victim #8 Julie Anne Winningham, His
fiancée
 He was engaged to her however she just wanted him for his money
 They were together when he was a serial killer, but she did not know he was
committing murder.
 He choked her to death in Washington on march 10 1995.
 This was his last murder.
 The reason he was caught was because he had a connection to this victim
 A woman named Dawn slagle told police his name was Keith jesperson
To be continued……..
The One That Lived
Dawn Slagle
 A young woman just had an argument with her husband on
a late night, and needed time to calm down so she took her
baby and went for a walk.
 A man approached her, and said “Hello my name is Keith
Jespersen, it’s cold out side tonight you don’t want your baby
to get cold, why don’t you come sit in the truck and I can
give you a ride home”.
 Even though she had a bad feeling she agreed and decided
to let him help, and give her a ride back home.
To be continued……..
Married to a serial killer Sunday night
news.com
The One That Lived
Dawn Slagle
 Once she was in the truck she soon regretted her decision
 He demanded sexual intercourse and she refused, He then
grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into the
truck window.
 Her baby started crying and according to Dawn “his mood
changed and he said to her the following words.
 “Don’t ever get in a car with another person you don’t know
again because it might be the last thing you do.”
 She said that my baby saved my life that day.
 His only mistake was reveling his name and led to his arrest.
Married to a serial killer Sunday night news.com
False suspects
 Laverne pavlinac read about the first murder, she came up with a plan to use
Bennett's case to her advantage to end her 10 year abuse from her boyfriend.
 She made anonymous tips to police saying her boyfriend killed Bennett, She also
later changed her story. Saying that they both met her at a bar and her
boyfriend raped Bennett and murdered her.
 When the police interviewed the boyfriend he denied the claims of his girlfriend.
 she put in the trunk of her car the items located in the search warrant. Police
later determined they were planted as false evidence.
 National registry of exonerations
False suspects
Location of the purse.
 Police then took her to the gorge to see if she could point
out locations only the police and killer would know.
 However they were arrested she was in January 1991.
sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 10 years. He
was sentenced to life in prison in march 1991.
 When Keith Jesperson found they were taking credit for his
work he accomplished, he confessed and told police
where her purse was, sure enough it was him, since
Laverne could not tell the police where it was.
 The judge refused to vacate her conviction by punishing
her for abuse of the Judicial system.
 They were released on November 27 1995.
The clue on the Bathroom wall
 When jesperson found about Laverne and john taking credit for his work he
wrote a confession to the murder of Taunja Bennett on the bathroom wall
of a truck stop signed with a happy face.
Letters
His Daughter
 Melissa Moore is the daughter of
Keith Jespersen.
 Wrote a book called “Shattered
silence the unknown story of a
serial killers daughter”.
What She Witnessed
 She said that when she brought kittens home one day she
wittinessed first hand an experience she will never forget.
 She brought the kittens home with her and she wanted to show
her parents like most kids do. She then saw her father grab them
by the tail and hang them on the clothes line in the yard. She
said she got scared and ran into the house to tell her mother,
however when they got outside it was to late and the cats were
dead on the ground.
 Some conversations between her and her father were awkward.
 EX #1. "One time as we were driving up the old scenic highway,
my father said, 'I know how to kill someone and get away with it,'"
 EX #2. "The same route that we would take going to the Oregon
coast is where he disposed of the first victim,"
http://a.abcnews.com/images/2020/abc_2020_webcast1_100819_wn.jpg
Keith Jespersen today
 sentenced to life in prison in the Oregon State
Penitentiary. He is serving life without parole.
 Interview with date line NBC.
 Were you treated fairly when you turned yourself in or
were you like the guys being thrown to the ground on
the T.V. show "Cops"?
When the Sheriff's arrived, I walked over to them and
told them who I was. The Wilcox, Arizona sheriff's
treated me with respect. Handcuffed me in front and
loosely-not cinching tight. Matter of fact, most police
agencies have treated me with the same respect that I
have shown to them. I know it could go the other way
if I started to react the other way. I'm a big guy and it
would only create a bigger hassle for me to be
uncooperative in my daily routine.
http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Dr-Phil-Helps-a-Serial-Killers-Daughter/3#ixzz2wGkL6UAC
Movie
 In 2014 the lifetime movie network produced a
movie about Keith Jespersen called “The Happy
Face Killer.
 It premiered on march 1st 2014.
 David Arquette portrayed Keith Jespersen.
Keith Jespersen Portrayed in the
lifetime movie Network
IMDB.com
Serial killers statistics.