Best Known For: Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as the "Happy Face Killer," brutally murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. 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. "Theyhave her tell me the story and I looked at her again, and I said, 'Mom, are you sure?' According to Jesperson, Pentland attempted to double the fee she charged for the sex he had been engaged in with her. 'Happy Face Killer' case tapes reveal the lengths woman went to frame Watch Happy Face Killer on Lifetime Movie Club. Victim 1:Taunja Bennett. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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 . . Pentlands body was found in November 1992 after being discarded in Salem, Oregon. Jesperson claimed this still-unidentified woman as his fifth victim but told Phelps that he cant recall anything about her. Keith Jesperson | Photos | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers Jesperson met 21-year-old Bennett in a bar in Portland, Oregon. His last known victim was a woman he dated, which led to his capture and incarceration for life. [19] To avoid the possibility of facing the death penalty, Sosnovske pleaded no contest. On September 29, 2006, 21-year-old Lucas Homan vanished from La Crosse, Wisconsin. By Tim Stelloh. His death was ruleda probable drowning, and there wereno signs of trauma. Hundreds of college-aged men have died in accidental or undetermined drownings. He would go on to share details of the crime on other restroom walls. Police have not saidif a smiley face was present near the death site. 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. Oregon mom identified as victim of 'Happy Face Killer' nearly 4 decades Watch the full story on "20/20" THIS FRIDAY at 9 p.m. According to former detective Kevin Gannon and Dr. Lee Gilbertson, when Booth was found, his body was in full rigor mortis, which normallydissipates within 24 to 36 hours after death. Here's what the evidence says. Smiley Face Killer Theory: The Evidence For And Against We need to report this, John.' that, using genetic genealogy, they were able to identify a body found in 1993 as Patricia Skiple of Colton, Oregon. Are the Smiley Face Killers Real? - A&E True Crime Criminal profiler Pat Brown calls the serial killer theory "ludicrous", arguing that the evidence does not fit what is known about serial killers. Jesperson sent the photo to the Duquesne University students. Today, we're finishing our look at Keith Jesperson, the twisted murderer otherwise known as the Happy Face Killer. [8][16] This led Phil Stanford, the journalist working the story for The Oregonian, to dub Jesperson "The Happy Face Killer". After getting in an argument with Bennett, he strangled her to death with his hands and disposed of her body. His friends went up to their room and never saw Welzien again. California 'Happy Face Killer' victim ID'd after 29 years - Yahoo! He strangled her and left her corpse in Oregon. Jesperson eventually settled in Selah, Washington with his wife and three children. Jesperson claims she was a sex worker who climbed into his truck, even though he told her he wasnt interested in her services, according to the two-hour Oxygen special. 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. "He went off into the woods with her," Pavlinac told investigators. 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." 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. That's when they said she implicated herself in the murder, according to Det. Sometimes they even brag about it. The last known sighting of the Duquesne University graduate student was caught on asurveillance camera in the downtown area. His death was ruled an accidental drowning, andthe autopsy report noted"acute alcohol intoxication was a major contributing factor.". Buddy up at all times. Victim 1: Taunja Bennett. 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. She was killed in Washington state on March 10, 1995, and her body was discovered the next day. Taunja Bennett, 23, is seen here in this undated photo. Her body disintegrated against the hot asphalt as he drove. Her body was found after his arrest. The area had been searched repeatedly in the weeks before his body was discovered, but no one had seen Booth. Remains found in Merced County, California on June 3, 1993, belonged to a Jesperson victim he has said was called "Cindy." In 2019, investigators began utilizing genetic genealogy in an attempt to identify Blue Pacheco, partnering with the nonprofit DNA Doe Project. Jesperson, who was arrested in 1995 on suspicion of killing a woman in Washington state, was dubbed the Happy Face Killer because he drew smiley faces on letters he sent to the media and. "[He said] I better not open my mouth. One of them was to a friend. Kreuger, Peggy; Kendra Justice & Amy Hunt (March 2006). Pavlinac and Sosnovske were released from prison in November 1995. Victim 4:Laurie Ann Pentland, 26. "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. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. They had three children, two girls and a boy. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. He strapped the woman beneath his big rig,. In June 2021, a trailer appeared on iTunes for a new true crime podcast called Life After Happy Face, to be hosted by Melissa Moore and forensic criminologist Laura Pettler. But Pavlinac claimed she knew where she and Sosnovske had left Bennett's body in the Columbia Gorge outside of town, and took investigators to the exact remote wooded area where Bennett was found. The night of his disappearance, Geib made several calls from his cell phone. Pavlinac had made the whole thing up. At some of the sites where the victims' bodies were found, smiley face graffiti had been left behind. Investigators have revealed the name of a heretofore unidentified victim of the "Happy Face Killer," nearly 30 years after her murder. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought about what it would be like to do the same to a human. These convictions meant Jesperson was unlikely to ever face charges for his crime. Halfway through the game, Hurley called hisfiance, ClaireMahoney, pictured above, and said he wanted to leave. 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. 'Happy Face Killer' Victim Identified 30 years After Body Found Near His boss informed his family, who filed a missing persons report 72 hours later. 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. While he has claimed to have killed as many as 160 people, only eight murders have been confirmed. California 'Happy Face Killer' victim ID'd after 29 years 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. The smiley face murder theory (also known as the smiley face murders, smiley face killings, and smiley face gang) is a theory advanced by retired New York City detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, as well as Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor and gang expert at St. At the time, Pavlinac said she was able to dupe authorities because she had learned details of the crime from newspaper articles and from reading the search warrant without police noticing. According to police reports, one dog later hit on an an SUV owned by a local band member, who had played a show at the bar the night of Homan's disappearance, but the K9 alert was inconclusive. California 'Happy Face Killer' victim ID'd after 29 years What doesn't make sense is that many of the 40 cases the investigators have looked into have puzzling evidence. 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, reported the Spokesman-Review. Search dogs scoured the downtown area where Homan was last seen alive. Jesperson signed each letter with a smiley face. And that's how I remember her," said Melissa Gavin, her longtime friend. 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. 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She found out that her son had reportedly suffered blunt force trauma to the head, his eye socket and behind his left leg. At the time, he was being investigated for the murder of 41-year-old Julie Winningham, who some described as his girlfriend. Julie Winningham is the last known victim of Keith Hunter Jesperson. Despite the distance between them, some detectives think that drownings are actually the work of a serial killer or group of serial killers. 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. Laverne Pavlinac and John Sosnovske are seen here in this 1985 family photo. . His brothers did not help him, instead they nicknamed him "Igor" or "Ig", a name that stuck throughout his school years. Jesperson's last victim was the crime that ultimately led to his capture. Killing Killers: 10 tips for eluding the Smiley Face killers The Happy Face Killer Pt. 1-Creepy Cascadia 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. Editor Note: This is rerun of 2018 post. "She was that kind of woman. 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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! He split from his wife in 1990 after 15 years of . Investigators believedhe could have walked to the edge of Lake Michigan, a five-minute walk from the hotel, and fallen in. "The Smiley Face Killers" movie was . the happy face killer Full Book - bookforread.com whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. Join Melissa Moore, host of Happy Face Season 1, as she helps Becky unravel the strange tale of her family, searching for answers to decades-old mysteries that remain unanswered in the modern day. I'm thinking, 'My God, she is actually involved in this,'" Ingram said. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and prosecutors. Jesperson's first known victim was Taunja Bennett on 21 January 1990, near Portland, Oregon, United States. In 1990, shortly after his marriage ended, Keith Jesperson, a long-haul trucker from Selah, Washington, began killing women. 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. Pavlinac had been with Sosnovske, a farmhand 18 years her junior, for a decade when the Bennett case caught her attention in 1990. The victims were predominately white, male, athletic ("3.5 and above star athletes," according to Gannon), and young from 17 to early 20s. The production features interviews between, Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 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". Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! GHB was also found in his system along with alcohol. Investigators installed a hidden recording device in their home hoping to catch Sosnovske making incriminating statements. Her sister Michelle White said Bennett was a compassionate person who loved everyone.. Eight murders were eventually linked to Jesperson, whos serving multiple concurrent sentences in Oregon State Penitentiary. The body of 23-year-old Taunja Bennett was found in this remote woodland near the Columbia Gorge in 1990. His older daughter has described witnessing acts of animal cruelty that included Jesperson killing kittens. More than 25 years have passed since the ordeal, and in that time, both Sosnovske and Pavlinac have died. Jesperson reported that he was raped at age 14. 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. Victim 2: California Jane Doe. He had given police officers the location of the victim's purse. 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. However, a part of him wanted to claim credit, so he wrote about murdering Bennett in a bus terminal bathroom. The day of his disappearance, Homan had been celebrating Oktoberfest with his friends. One of Welzien's friends, Nick Young, stayed behind. He is now 66 years old, according to his prison records. He was a 21-year-old student at Fordham University, and his body was found in. 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. Victim 5: California Jane Doe. 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. [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. Revealed as the Happy Face Killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson confessed to killing eight women in Florida, California, Oregon, Wyoming, and Washington. Happy Face Killer (TV Movie 2014) - IMDb I'll go to death row.'". 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. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! [32] The series had 12 episodes. 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. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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." On Monday, the Santa Clara County Sheriff . 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. A smiley face was found spray painted on an underpass near where James body was discovered. Hunting Down Privileged Men: The Smiley Face Killings