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. Pavlinac seemed to know intimate details about the case. His boss informed his family, who filed a missing persons report 72 hours later. Officials did not implicate the band member in Homan's death. that, using genetic genealogy, they were able to identify a body found in 1993 as Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon. His father often punished Jesperson by hitting him with a leather belt. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. "Madonna, that's what she listened to all day," White said. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an early age which included torturing animals and attacking other children. He was reported missing later that day by his mother, and a massive manhunt ensued. He has said he strangled her because she wouldn't let him sleep. She's told her own daughter the same story, very convincingly.' 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. During his depraved spree, Jesperson taunted authorities with anonymous confessions signed with a smiley face. [11] Jesperson gives the Jane Doe's name as Claudia. 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. In both cases, and as per usual . Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. 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. [6] Approximately one year later, Jesperson was swimming in a lake when another boy held him underwater until he blacked out. 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. Victim 6: Florida Jane Doe. The Pittsburgh police theorized James fell into the river while crossing a bridge near the city center and drowned. 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. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. Moore, Melissa G. & M. Bridget Cook (2009). [10][14], Jesperson was arrested on 30 March 1995 for the murder of Julie Winningham. 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. The following morning, James did not show up for work. Jesperson attempted suicide but ended up confessing to Winningham's murder. 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. Welzien's friends said he had only three or four drinks, but by the end of the night he seemed very intoxicated. He is serving three consecutive life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. Victim 2: California Jane Doe. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Laverne Pavlinac, who, along with John Sosnovske, was convicted for the killing of Taunja Bennett, waits at the Oregon Women's Correctional Center in Salem, Ore., Oct. 27, 1995, for word on her release. 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. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! [5] This continued as he got older. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. After the body of his first victim, Taunja Bennett, was found, media attention surrounded Laverne Pavlinac, a woman who falsely confessed to having killed Bennett with the help of her abusive boyfriend, John Sosnovske. When that did not elicit a response, he began writing letters to the media and authorities. Jesperson married Rose Hucke on August 2, 1975. 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. A television movie, Happy Face Killer, starring David Arquette as Jesperson, aired in 2014. He strapped the woman beneath his big rig,. Welzien told his friends he wanted to call it a night and go back to the hotel where they were staying. Laverne Pavlinac, right, touches the tear-stained face of her grandaughter, Nicole Sullivan, after being released from prison in Salem, Ore., Nov. 27, 1995. . [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. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. While in custody, Jesperson shared details of his eight murders. 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. [00:02:05] Hi, everyone. 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 . [26], In 2008, Moore published a book titled Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter. In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. The DNA Doe Project identified Skiple's body in partnership with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office after it was found near westbound State Route 152. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. Here's what the evidence says. 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. [00:02:14] Laverne Pavlinac is seen here showing investigators where Taunja Bennett's body was found, even though she had nothing to do with the crime. A smiley face had been spray-painted on a tree near where Geib's body was found, and a smiley face sticker was later placed on his gravesite. The Smiley Face Killer. April 19, 2022, 7:31 PM PDT. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. And she [said], 'Well, they told me I had to tell you thisbecauseif I told you then they would believe me,'" Carpenter said. Pavlinac then confessed to her. He then sought work again as an interstate truck driver after relocating to Cheney, Washington. The team believes the serial killers are highly sophisticated and communicate with each other on the dark web. "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. Mahoney drove to the address, but Hurley was not there. Keith Hunter Jesperson committed his first murder in 1990. went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. Sosnovske was brought in for questioning and denied any involvement. Hurley's mother received a copy of the autopsy report and allowed aphysician to analyze the report. [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. "[Julie] was beautiful inside as well as outside. Authorities came to believe they had convicted the wrong people. All calls are toll-free and confidential. Daughter of the infamous 'Happy Face' serial killer, Melissa Moore, and leading female Forensic Criminologist, Dr. Laura Pettler, unearth chilling details from homicide case files in this weekly true-crime series which tells the actual stories of people who shared their lives with a killer or their victims. 'Happy Face Killer' case tapes reveal the lengths woman went to frame boyfriend Meanwhile, the real killer carried out a series of murders over five years. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department announced. The first happened when Jesperson was around age 10, when he was friends with a boy named Martin. Others say there is no killer. She was a mother and approximately 45 years old at the time she was killed. "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. At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. She was a previously-unidentified woman named Patricia Skiple,[12] who, he claimed, was named "Carla" or "Cindy". "I sometimes now wonder, if he was freed now, if he was released, would he kill again? His victims, who were often raped and strangled, included short-term acquaintances, sex workers and a girlfriend. "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. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. Her identity remains unknown. T he Smiley Face death toll continues to climb, this time in Germany. 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. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. Jesperson murdered another woman in August 1992 at a Turlock, California truck stop. The Happy Face Killer's eighth and final victim that would be his downfall. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. On January 1, 2000, Northern Illinois University junior Brian Welzien went missing from Chicago, Illinois, after a night of celebrating Y2K with his friends. "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. The term "smiley face" became connected to their theory when the team . Jesperson is currently serving a sentence of life without parole at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Taunja Bennett was the first to die. 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. As she and Sosnovske started their life sentences, one of the United States' most notorious serial killers continued his murder spree. One of them was to a friend. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Photo: 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. [10] Jesperson soon realized that this job afforded him the opportunity to kill without being suspected. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. What doesn't make sense is that many of the 40 cases the investigators have looked into have puzzling evidence. Police have not saidif a smiley face was present near the death site. Alcohol and antidepressants were foundin Geib's toxicology screen, but it was reported thatGeib was not sufferingfrom any form of depression at the time. was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received multiple life sentences for several of these crimes but was spared the death penalty. 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]. Jesperson, also called the "Happy Face Killer", who is serving two life sentences in Oregon in connection with guilty pleas to two murders. I'llgo to the pen. Her real name remains a mystery. Pavlinac set up a meeting with investigators and gave a false confession, using the details she had read in the newspaper to give a detailed story of how Sosnovske forced her to help him rape, murder, and dispose of Bennett's body. After Jesperson was in custody, he provided the location of Bennett's purse, which only the killer would know. Sometimes they even brag about it. In November 1992, Jesperson had an encounter with sex worker Laurie Anne Pentland at a truck stop. She told investigators she drove them to a scenic overlook at the Columbia Gorge, where Sosnovske told her to pull over. Pavlinac's daughters said their mother "was never the same" after she divorced their father after discovering he left her for another woman. However, the kicker is that these drownings happening in 11 different states. 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 victims were predominately white, male, athletic ("3.5 and above star athletes," according to Gannon), and young from 17 to early 20s. Although two different people were originally charged in Bennett's murder, the real killer turned out to be Keith Hunter Jesperson, who the media already knew as "The Happy Face Killer." A smiley face was paintedon a wall of the bar under a deck. 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.

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