Questions Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice Hopes to Answer, A First Look at the Murder of Susan Berman. Various witnesses outside the hotel saw Welzien vomiting in the street. 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. 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. Because Jesperson allowed her to use his credit card to make a phone call, he devised a depraved way to conceal her identity. 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. How Taunja Bennett's Murder Led To The Capture Of The 'Happy Face Killer' After he raped and strangled her, Jesperson dumped her body near the Columbia River Gorge, outside Portland. Happy Face Presents: Two Face iHeart True Crime True Crime 4.3 8.5K Ratings; What would you do if you learned you were adopted, your biological . At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. He duct-taped her mouth and hands before raping and strangling her. Largely considered an urban legend, the Smiley Face Killer, like the Manchester Pusher, murdered his victims by drowning. ". Jesperson's last victim was Julie Winningham, who'd been his girlfriend. But a few days later, they got another call from Pavlinac. Safety in numbers is the name of the game, before, during and after a night out on the town. On October 8, 2009, Hurley went to the game with two friends. 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. Per Courthouse News Service, Slagle is a registered nurse and grandmother residing in Chico, Calif. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. This victim has been identified as Cynthia Lynn (Rose) Wilcox. Some of his victims, as seen in this timeline, have never been identified. , "I'm in a field" before the call dropped. Cloud State University. Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! are covered in bracing detail in the Oxygen special Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer, now streaming. . At age 35, Keith was 6'7.5" tall and weighed 240lbs. When investigators asked him why he decided to come forward, Jesperson listed two reasons. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all other Spotify originals from podcast for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. Victim 7: Angela Subrize, 21. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Meanwhile, the real killer carried out a series of murders over five years. Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. 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. His death was ruled an undetermined drowning. NR Jul 18th, 2021 Documentary. The Happy Face Killer Pt. 1-Creepy Cascadia The body of Julie Winningham, 41, of Camas, Washington, was found alongside a Washington State road in 1995. 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. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and incarceration for life. [17] He was convicted of another murder and received a fourth life sentence in January 2010. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. The first happened when Jesperson was around age 10, when he was friends with a boy named Martin. 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. Her identity remains unknown. Tension in the marriage increased, and after fourteen years, while Jesperson was on the road, Hucke packed up her and her children's belongings and drove 200 miles away to live with her parents in Spokane, Washington. Keith Jesperson | Photos | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. She was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison with a 10-year minimum served. According to detectives Anthony Duarte and Kevin Gannon, the Smiley Face Theory came into . Happy Face Presents: Two Face on Apple Podcasts The Manchester Pusher: Urban Legend or Serial Killer? Pavlinac and Sosnovske were both arrested on 5 March 1990 and both were convicted of the murder on 8 February 1991. He received multiple life sentences for several of these crimes but was spared the death penalty. 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. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. James' body, however, had almost no visible damage, which was highly suspicious because it had traveled through heavily trafficked river. Smiley Face Killer Theory: The Evidence For And Against 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. 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. She grew up in a small town in Washington state and survived the escalating violence from her home life and. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". Sosnovske would later plead no contest to the murder charge. "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. 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. More than a dozen of these cases have been outlined in Gannon and Gilbertson's book "Case Studies in Drowning Forensics," but there are six deaths in particular that stand out as potential Smiley Face murders: Dakota James was 23 years old when he went missing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "She was that kind of woman. Pavlinac remarried, but her second husband died a few years later. But when investigators were unable to match the purse and denim piece to Bennett, they confronted Pavlinac about fabricating evidence. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. Now 66, Jesperson is serving five non-consecutive life sentences in Oregon's state penitentiary. I think that she was at a bad place in her life," said her daughter Darlene Carpenter. She also said she was able to point to the location of Bennett's body based on where the brush had been cleared away. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department announced. The Happy Face Killer's eighth and final victim that would be his downfall. The daughter of a man dubbed the "Happy Face Killer" has revealed the suffering she went through after discovering her father, Keith Jesperson, was a serial rapist and murderer who preyed on what he once claimed was as many as 185 people over a five-year span. In September 2009, Jesperson was indicted in Riverside County, California, on murder charges; he was extradited in December 2009. The Smiley Face Killer - Serialkillercalendar.com Sometimes they even brag about it. Today's episode is part 1 of our coverage of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson. A Navy veteran, 24-year-old William Hurley went missing after leaving a Bruins hockey game in Boston,Massachusetts. Based on Pavlinac's statements, and that Sosnovke failed a polygraph test, authorities arrested Sosnovke on murder charges. When she arrived, however, he was nowhere in sight. 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. He decided to drag her body underneath his truck to impede identification. He showed signs of psychopathic behavior from an early age which included torturing animals and attacking other children. 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. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson. Pavlinac and Sosnovske were released from prison in November 1995. Her real name remains a mystery. But it was all a lie. "John That's the worst thing you've ever gotten yourself into," she told him. 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. She later rescinded her confession, but in 1991 a jury still found her guilty. Patrick McNeill is thought to be the first victim of the Smiley Face Killers. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Soon after Angela Subrize ran into Jesperson at a bar in Spokane, Washington in January 1995, she traveled east with him in his truck. My evil dad: Life as a serial killer's daughter - BBC News This included beatings, sometimes with a belt in front of others, and in one case he received an electric shock. She maintains a very private lifestyle, so not much is known about her. 'Happy Face Killer' victim identified after 29 years as Oregon woman 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. . By Tim Stelloh. Who is the Happy Face Killer Keith Hunter Jesperson? 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 apprehended before he kills again. A smiley face was found painted near the river. Hurley walked outside while Mahoney drove to the stadium to pick him up. 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. In both cases, and as per usual . The term "Smiley Face Killers" come from the graffiti smiley faces supposedly found at the crime scenes. One of Welzien's friends, Nick Young, stayed behind. Jesperson was a. Police interview tapes obtained by "20/20" show the lengths Pavlinac went to convince investigators she and Sosnovske were the killers responsible when they weren't. The Smiley Face Killer. 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. [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. A month later, in Turlock, California, the body of Cynthia Lyn Rose was discovered. April 19, 2022 / 7:43 AM / CBS San Francisco. Buddy up at all times. 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. His fourth victim was another sex worker, Laurie Ann Pentland of Salem, Oregon, whose body was found in November 1992. 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. At her trial, Pavlinac recanted her confession, but the jury found her guilty. His blood-alcohol concentrationwas only 0.08 percent. His death was ruled an accidental drowning, andthe autopsy report noted"acute alcohol intoxication was a major contributing factor.". We need to report this, John.' '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. "He says, 'Because I choked her' I said, 'I think weneed to take her to a hospital. Pavlinac then confessed to her. [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. That triggered him. Happy Face stands out because of Moore 's intimate tie to the criminal in question. 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. , who became known for signing the letters with a happy face symbol thus the Happy Face Killer moniker. But in the process, she also falsely implicated herself. He would go on to share details of the crime on other restroom walls. 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. At school, Jesperson was bigger than his classmates and was taunted with names like "Monster Man" and "Igor." After the murder, Jesperson remembered they'd spent days together and he'd let her use a credit card. '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. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone..