Keith Hunter Jesperson

Serial Killer

Keith Hunter Jesperson: The "Happy Face Killer"

A Murderer Traveling America's Highways

Keith Hunter Jesperson was a Canadian-American serial killer and long-haul truck driver who murdered at least eight women between January 1990 and March 1995. His work allowed him to travel across the United States for extended periods, giving him access to isolated highways, truck stops and rural dumping grounds in several states. Many of the women he targeted were living vulnerable or transient lives, making their disappearances and deaths more difficult for investigators in different jurisdictions to connect. Jesperson became known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on anonymous confessions that he left in public places or mailed to newspapers and law-enforcement agencies. The cheerful symbol stood in disturbing contrast to the violence described in his messages. His letters were also a way of demanding recognition, particularly after two innocent people were convicted of his first known murder.

Early Life and Violent Behavior

Jesperson was born on April 6, 1955, in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada. His family later moved to Washington state. Accounts of his childhood describe an isolated boy who was bullied because of his large size and who developed a troubling fascination with cruelty. He later admitted abusing and killing animals, behavior that continued as he grew older. As an adult, Jesperson married and had three children. He supported his family by driving trucks, but his marriage deteriorated and ended in divorce in 1990. That same year, he committed his first confirmed murder. Standing approximately six feet six inches tall and weighing more than 250 pounds, Jesperson possessed a major physical advantage over many of the women he encountered. Strangulation became his most frequently documented method of killing. ...

Confirmed Victims: (8)

Taunja Bennett Age: (23), Date of Death: January 21, 1990

Survivors:

Martin , Date of Attack: 1965-1966

Unnamed boy , Date of Attack: 1966-1967

Keith Hunter Jesperson - Wikipedia