She was killed in Washington state on March 10, 1995, and her body was discovered the next day. But it was all a lie. 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. The first happened when Jesperson was around age 10, when he was friends with a boy named Martin. ". 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.? Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. Soon after his injury was when Keith started to kill. 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 . Some say the Smiley Face Killer has taken 40 victims over two decades. "She was very giving. They divorced in 1989. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. Investigators said there wasno sign of foul play, and his death was ruled an undetermined drowning. 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 signed each letter with a smiley face. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. . A Canadian-born long-haul truck driver and divorced father of three, Jesperson carried out his killings over the course of five years until he turned himself in to authorities in 1995. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. Laverne Pavlinac, right, touches the tear-stained face of her grandaughter, Nicole Sullivan, after being released from prison in Salem, Ore., Nov. 27, 1995. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. That's whyall ofthis doesn'tmake sense. Best Known For: Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. [33] The episode was released on July 9, 2021. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. ", This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 19:00. jocks) usually after a night of drinking at a bar are kidnapped, tortured, murdered and then their . I'll hurt your family.'". His victims, who were often raped and strangled, included short-term acquaintances, sex workers and a girlfriend. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. Patrick McNeill is thought to be the first victim of the Smiley Face Killers. Surveillance footage captured Booth entering the bar where the celebration took place, but there is no video evidence of him leaving. 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. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. 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. That triggered him. Jesperson is serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon. 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. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. Victim 8: Julia Ann Winningham, 41. 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. Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. The Santa Clara County Sheriffs Department. A smiley face was found painted near the river. [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. 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. After a night of barhopping, Homan headed home at around 10 p.m. with a friend. Laverne Pavlinac convinced investigators she and John Sosnovske had killed Taunja Bennett, when they hadn't. For example, the Canadian-American serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the . In 1990, Taunja Bennett was found dead near a scenic overlook at the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. 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. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. He never made it home. 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. "Then it becameserious,a seriousargument. The book I: the Creation of a Serial Killer (2002), by Jack Olsen, delved into Jesperson's life. I'llgo to the pen. The body of Julie Winningham, 41, of Camas, Washington, was found alongside a Washington State road in 1995. She was a mother and approximately 45 years old at the time she was killed. . 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. Victims of the Smiley Face Killer | Photo Credits: Oxygen The Team of Men that Came Up With the Theory. 2. , "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. ET on ABC. 45 colleged-aged males across a 20-year span. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. [00:02:05] Hi, everyone. Jesperson met her in a bar in January 1995 and agreed to give her a ride before eventually killing her. Jespersons fifth victim was known only as Susanne, whom he met in Crestview, Florida. "I consider this the most dangerous domestic terrorist group in the United States today," said Gannon. [26], In 2008, Moore published a book titled Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter. And they were laughing," Pavlinac told investigators. . 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. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! [00:02:14] Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. 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. The area had been searched repeatedly in the weeks before his body was discovered, but no one had seen Booth. You could tell where people had been in and out, the vehicles and everything else, limbs broke. On Monday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff . Jesperson grew up in Chilliwack, Canada before moving to Selah, Washington with his family when he was 12. "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. Jesperson's first victim, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett, was killed on January 21, 1990. [6] Although Jesperson was not successful with girls in high school, having never even attended a school dance or his prom, he did enter into a relationship after high school. The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . 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. The Insane Details of the Smiley Face Killers Theory; The Most Recent Alleged Smiley Face Killers' Victims Highlight How Long This Theory Has . Sosnovske pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and kidnapping charges to avoid the possibility of a death sentence and was sentenced to life in prison. The only difference was that the American version, operating in the Midwest throughout the 1990s, spray painted a smiley face on his victims. 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. "I don't think she was in love with him. I will be writing about that more in the future so stay tuned. . Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. She threatened to call the police, and he strangled her. I knew it had to be around there someplace. A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. He would often get into trouble for behaving badly, sometimes violently, and would be severely punished by his father. He later claimed his intention was to kill the boy. Homan was the eighth accidental drowning case in La Crosse over a nine-year period. The Smiley Face Killers. The couple divorced in 1990.[8]. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. Pavlinac made this false statement because she wanted to escape her abusive relationship with Sosnovske. Jesperson was a middle child, with an older sister and brother and a younger sister and brother. Today's episode is part 1 of our coverage of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. I'll go to death row.'". Jesperson was born on April 6, 1955, in British Columbia, Canada. While in custody, Jesperson began revealing details of his killings and making claims of many others, most of which he later recanted. "I [had] seen all these tracks and all this and that. That letter-writer turned out to be Keith Hunter Jesperson, who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. [He said,] 'No, no. 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. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. , who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the "Happy Face Killer," nearly 30 years after her murder. Photo: Tommy Booth, 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. He slapped her. 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. Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in 1955 in British Columbia, Canada and is a serial killer. He claimed to have victims in five states: Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming and Oregon. 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. Victim 1: Taunja Bennett. His older daughter has described witnessing acts of animal cruelty that included Jesperson killing kittens. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. [27] In November 2014, she wrote an article about her father for the BBC.[28]. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. In one six-page letter to The Oregonian newspaper, the serial killer revealed . "I'm told to place her into a holding cell I say, 'OK, Laverne, now you need to go into that room right there,' She turned around and she looked at me and she gave me a hug. She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' Jesperson was dubbed the "Happy Face Killer" for the smiley face drawings he included on a letter he sent to a Portland, Oregon newspaper, in which he bragged about killing women in a spree that began in 1990. 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. He was caught after killing his 41-year-old girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham, in 1995. 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. 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. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. Jesperson described murdering her, like other women he killed, as putting her out of her misery.. Jesperson resides in the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he spends much of his time making art. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! In April 1990, he sexually assaulted a woman who managed to escape. In March 2018, she was featured in an episode, titled "Put on a Happy Face", of the Investigation Discovery true crime series Evil Lives Here. I wanted to get those two people out of prison," he said in 1995, referring to Pavlinac and Sosnovske. Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. To learn more about this case, watch Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, streaming now on Oxygen. Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. PHOTO: Justice for Mason/Facebook. The message was signed with a smiley face. His blood-alcohol concentrationwas only 0.08 percent. 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". Investigators had been trying to nail down a suspect for weeks when Pavlinac brought Sosnovske to their attention. The renowned crime journalist and author of The Misbegotten Son turns his attention to serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, the "Happy Face Killer" from Oregon who strangled eight women in the 1990s, detailing his evolution from angry child to psychotic murderer. , 24, disappeared on January 19, 2008 from a bar in Woodlyn, Pennsylvania. [21], Following Bennett's murder, as all the attention was going to Pavlinac and Sosnovske, Jesperson wrote a confession on the bathroom wall of a truck stop and signed it with a smiley face. Sosnovske pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty. Over the past 20 years, hundreds of college-aged men across the US have died as the result of undetermined or accidental drownings. Taunja Bennett was the first to die. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? In addition to murder, Jesperson's criminal history included animal cruelty, arson and sexual assault. Punched her, slapped her. Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. 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. 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. "[Julie] was beautiful inside as well as outside. Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as "The Happy Face Killer ," is serving a life sentence in prison today. Moore recounts living with Jesperson until her parents' 1990 divorce, and noticing how her father was different when she was in elementary school. His death was ruleda probable drowning, and there wereno signs of trauma. [7] Jesperson continued to spend time with his children when he was in town. Could some of them be connected to a serial killer or group of killers? Geib's body was found three weeks later in a lake that had previously been searched. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. Now 66, Jesperson is serving five non-consecutive life sentences in Oregon's state penitentiary. Local police theorized the men simply got too drunk, fell into the water and drowned, but Gannon, Donovan, Duarte and Gilbertson investigated their deaths as the work of an organized group of serial killers dubbed "The Smiley Face Killers." 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. His death was ruled an undetermined drowning. The Happy Face Killer's eighth and final victim that would be his downfall. Pavlinac told investigators during her last recorded statement on Feb. 26, 1990. Smiley faces again served as his signature, prompting a journalist to dub Jesperson the "Happy Face Killer.". Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. 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. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . She also said she was able to point to the location of Bennett's body based on where the brush had been cleared away. Six days after his disappearance,Hurley's body was foundin the Charles River, close to where he asked Mahoney to pick him up. Jesperson had dated before her before killing her on March 3, 1995 because he believed she was after his money. Her body was discovered behind the Blueberry Hill Cafe in Turlock, California. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. Director Carl Hindmarch Stars Doug Bates Janine Brugnone Beghtol Rick Buckner See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 1 User review 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. 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. [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. He never made it home. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. Julie Winningham is seen here in this undated photo. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. And just like his British counterpart, the police denied . Melissa G. Moore, Jesperson's older daughter, wrote Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killers Daughter (2009). Potential "Smiley Face Killers" victim Todd Geib. 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 . In both cases, and as per usual . Remembering the first known victim of Happy Face serial killer. Mahoney said she drove around for an hour before returning home, thinking Hurley got another ride, and that when she got back, Hurley was still gone. But a few days later, they got another call from Pavlinac. What Is the Smiley Face Killers Theory? More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. One of Welzien's friends, Nick Young, stayed behind. She called him a second time, but his cell phone seemed to be out of battery. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. They believed his body traveled for almost 10 miles and even went through a dam before its discovery. The day of his disappearance, Homan had been celebrating Oktoberfest with his friends. Jesperson murdered another woman in August 1992 at a Turlock, California truck stop. This led police agencies in several states to reopen old cases, many of which were found to be possible victims of Jesperson. Other students hold photos of Mr. Jesperson's victims. In 1975, when Jesperson was aged 20, he married Rose Hucke, and the couple had three children: two daughters and one son. Published: Apr. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. That this never happened. At her trial, Pavlinac recanted her confession, but the jury found her guilty. According to Jesperson, after he killed his fifth victim in 1993 he managed to stave off murderous urges for more than a year by committing arson while on the road as a trucker. Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. 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.