According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, Geib's head and shoulders were sticking out of the water. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and, During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous. 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. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. '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. 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. 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 . of Victims 8-185 killed 5 attempted Span of crimes 1995/1966-March 10, 1995 (confirmed) Criminal Charges 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. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was the only one in their family who graduated from high school, someone who read a lot and loved music. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. B. I don't," Sosnovke is heard saying on the tape. 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. [00:02:05] Hi, everyone. Between 1990-1995, a series of murders were discovered over several states, all with a very similar MO. He slapped her. Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as "The Happy Face Killer ," is serving a life sentence in prison today. In 1990, Taunja Bennett was found dead near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. [He said,] 'No, no. In April 1990, he sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape. No serial killer loose in Boston, police say, as another man vanishes; Here Are 6 Of The Alleged Victims Of The 'Smiley Face Killings' Is a Serial-Killer Gang Murdering Young Men Across the U.S.? Sometimes they even brag about it. She told investigators she drove them to a scenic overlook at the Columbia Gorge, where Sosnovske told her to pull over. 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. First, she told investigators that she knew Sosnovske did it because she saw Bennett's body, said Ingram. This finding is inconsistent with the belief that Booth drowned the night he disappeared. "[Julie] was beautiful inside as well as outside. [11] Jesperson gives the Jane Doe's name as Claudia. 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. Criminal profiler Pat Brown calls the serial killer theory "ludicrous", arguing that the evidence does not fit what is known about serial killers. Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. The Lonely Hearts Killer, was a truly frightening and twisted serial murderer in the late 1950s. This led Jesperson to violently attack Martin until his father pulled him away. "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. They had three children, two girls and a boy. Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. Her identity remains unknown. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. She told investigators she had gone to the bar to meet Sosnovke, but Bennett was alive when she picked them up and both got in the car with her. And just like his British counterpart, the police denied . She threatened to call the police, and he strangled her. [13] Police originally considered her death a drug overdose. The killers always leave a signature smiley face near the location of the body. Pavlinac soon admitted to making up her entire story, but her claims were ignored. 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. 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. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and prosecutors. Despite the distance between them, some detectives think that drownings are actually the work of a serial killer or group of serial killers. 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. 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. 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. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. Taunja Bennett was the first to die. And they were laughing," Pavlinac told investigators. His death was ruled an accidental drowning, andthe autopsy report noted"acute alcohol intoxication was a major contributing factor.". At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. PHOTO: Justice for Mason/Facebook. Investigators installed a hidden recording device in their home hoping to catch Sosnovske making incriminating statements. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. 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". When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities. Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon, had been . ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. He was sentenced to life in prison while Pavlinac was sentenced to no less than ten years, much more than she had anticipated. He would go on to share details of the crime on other restroom walls. ". We need to report this, John.' Daun Slagle is the sole survivor of the "Happy Face Killer." She is the only person to survive an attack by the infamous serial killer. The footage captured James entering a dark alley, and that was the last time he was seen alive. 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. A journalist noticed the symbol and came up with the Happy Face Killer nickname. After he strangled them, he dumped the dead bodies on the side of the road. 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. After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. [6] He graduated from high school in 1973, but did not attend college because his father did not believe he could do it. April 19, 2022, 7:31 PM PDT. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. Jesperson eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. The only difference was that the American version, operating in the Midwest throughout the 1990s, spray painted a smiley face on his victims. Jesperson, also called the "Happy Face Killer", who is serving two life sentences in Oregon in connection with guilty pleas to two murders. 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. 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. In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. A smiley face was paintedon a wall of the bar under a deck. Due to the unknown identity of the female adult, Cold Case Detectives later referred to Jane Doe as Blue Pacheco.. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. That night, he had been celebrating a friend's 21st birthday with a group of friends. In. While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. They were able to identify her as Skiple on April 13. He strangled her and left her corpse in Oregon. Authorities came to believe they had convicted the wrong people. Victim 7: Angela Subrize, 21. When Mahoney called Hurley to find out where he was waiting, Mahoney said he answered the phone, and she heard him ask someone where he was located. One of them was to a friend. After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much 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. GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. 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. This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. 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. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? He received multiple life sentences for several of these crimes but was spared the death penalty. Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. However, a part of him wanted to claim credit, so he wrote about murdering Bennett in a bus terminal bathroom. April 18, 2022, at 9:19 p.m. California 'Happy Face Killer' Victim ID'd After 29 Years. Jesperson has said that he took 166 lives, but only the above eight murders have been attributed to him. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. Now 66, Jesperson is serving five non-consecutive life sentences in Oregon's state penitentiary. Buddy up at all times. The police gave him the nickname "The Happy Face Killer" as he would leave a happy face on his confession letters to the media. [33] The episode was released on July 9, 2021. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. Jesperson claims Rose was a sex worker who entered his truck at a truck stop while he slept. 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. The Smiley Face Killer. Jespersons heinous crimes as well as shocking twists in the case including a, couple who took the blame for one of his homicides. They believed his body traveled for almost 10 miles and even went through a dam before its discovery. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. Soon after Angela Subrize ran into Jesperson at a bar in Spokane, Washington in January 1995, she traveled east with him in his truck. The purse had not been found at the crime scene, and its location was considered information only the killer would know. Jesperson resides in the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he spends much of his time making art. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. Moore recounts living with Jesperson until her parents' 1990 divorce, and noticing how her father was different when she was in elementary school. Keith Hunter Jesperson committed his first murder in 1990. She would pop in and pop out, and over the years, She was that type of person.". But it was all a lie. I think that she was at a bad place in her life," said her daughter Darlene Carpenter. 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. 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. 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." That this never happened. Happy Face stands out because of Moore 's intimate tie to the criminal in question. 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. By Tim Stelloh. 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,, To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on. He met the developmentally disabled Bennett while out drinking and convinced her to go to his house. She called him a second time, but his cell phone seemed to be out of battery. 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. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. In these supposed "Smiley Face" serial killings, popular, high-achieving, athletic young men (i.e. 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. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. She had changed her story so many times that investigators said they wondered if she was telling the truth. The body of a woman found near Gilroy, California was this week identified as Patricia Skiple, a victim of the Happy Face Killer. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. 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. Here's what the evidence says. To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. Jespersons fifth victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida. While police didn't get any hard evidence, the recordings demonstrate how Pavlinac attempted to convince her boyfriend he played a role in Bennett's death. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an. According to detectives Anthony Duarte and Kevin Gannon, the Smiley Face Theory came into . jocks) usually after a night of drinking at a bar are kidnapped, tortured, murdered and then their . 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. Pavlinac made this false statement because she wanted to escape her abusive relationship with Sosnovske. While in custody, Jesperson shared details of his eight murders. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson, whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. Retired New York City Police detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, joined by criminal justice professor Dr. Lee Gilbertson, believe that a group of serial killers have been murdering young men around the country and making their deaths look like accidental drownings. Officials did not implicate the band member in Homan's death. When investigators asked him why he decided to come forward, Jesperson listed two reasons. About two weeks after he went missing,Booth's body was foundfacedown in a creek behind the bar. Patrick McNeill is thought to be the first victim of the Smiley Face Killers. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. Pavlinac's son also died shortly after due to medical reasons. [1] [10] Jesperson soon realized that this job afforded him the opportunity to kill without being suspected. 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. Dr. Laura Pettler, along with her partner in crime-fighting, Melissa Moore, are taking a deep dive into murder cases in the upcoming podcast, "Life After Happy Face." "Life After Happy Face" is a follow-up to Moore's "The Happy Face Killer" podcast, which followed the case of Keith Jesperson, a serial killer who wreaked havoc in the Pacific Northwest during the 1990s. Murderous Keith Hunter Jesperson became known as the Happy Face Killer for his boasting letters to police, signed with a smiley face. 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. Jesperson worked as a truck driver to support the family. Jesperson killed his next victim in June 1993 in Santa Nella, California. All Rights Reserved. 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. 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.