Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

The Happy Faced Killer: Keith Jesperson

Keith Hunter Jesperson (bornApril 6, 1955) is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered atleast eight women in the United States during the early 1990s. He wasknown as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drewsmiley faces on his many letters to the media and prosecutors. Manyof his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connectionto him. Strangulation was his preferred method of murdering, the samemethod he often used to kill animals as a child.

After the body of his first victim,Taunja Bennett, was found, media attention surrounded LavernePavlinac, a woman who falsely confessed to having killed Bennett withthe help of her abusive boyfriend, John Sosnovske.

Jesperson was upset that he was notgetting any media attention. On a bathroom wall hundreds of milesfrom the scene of the crime, he drew a smiley face and wrote ananonymous letter in which he confessed to killing Bennett andprovided proof. When that did not elicit a response, he began writingletters to the media and prosecutors.

His last victim was the crime thatultimately led to his capture. While Jesperson has claimed to havekilled as many as 185 people, only eight murders have been confirmed.

Early life

Keith Hunter Jesperson was born onApril 6, 1955, to Leslie (Les) and Gladys Jesperson in Chilliwack,British Columbia, Canada, the middle child with two brothers and twosisters. His father was a domineering alcoholic and Jespersonclaimed that his paternal grandfather was also violent. Les Jespersondenied being an abusive parent; however, while investigating for hisbook on Jesperson, author Jack Olsen was able to confirm much of theclaimed abuse with other family members.

Treated like an outcast by his ownfamily and teased by other children for his large size at a youngage, Jesperson was a lonely child who showed a propensity fortorturing and killing animals. Despite consistently getting intotrouble in his youth, including twice attempting to kill children whohad crossed him, Jesperson graduated from high school, secured a jobas a truck driver in 1974, got married a year later, and had threechildren. In 1990, after 15 years of marriage, Jesperson was divorcedand saw his dream to become a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman dashedfollowing an injury. After returning to truck driving, it was thatyear that Jesperson began to kill.

In his younger years, Jesperson wasgiven less attention than his siblings and treated differently by therest of his family. After moving to Selah, Washington, Jesperson hadtrouble fitting in and making friends because of his large size. Hisbrothers did not help him, instead they nicknamed him "Igor"or "Ig", a name that stuck throughout his schoolyears. Because of this, he was a shy child, content to play byhimself much of the time. He would often get into trouble forbehaving badly, sometimes violently, and would be severely punishedby his father. This included beatings (sometimes with a belt in frontof others) and, in one case, he received an electric shock from hisfather.

At a very early age—as young asfive—Jesperson would capture and torture animals. He enjoyedwatching animals kill each other as well as the feeling he got fromtaking their lives. This continued as he got older. He would capturebirds and stray cats and dogs around the trailer park where he livedwith his family, severely beating the animals and then stranglingthem to death, something for which he claims his father was proud ofhim. In the years following, Jesperson said he often thought aboutwhat it would be like to do the same to a human.