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Serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson is notoriously known as the Happy Face Killer. Keith murdered women in the 1990s and dumped their bodies in ditches.
The killer wrote disturbing letters to the media about the murders he's committed, signing the notes with a smiley face.
His case features in the new Netflix documentary Catching Killers.
Who is the Happy Face Killer?
66-year-old Keith Hunter Jesperson was born in British Columbia, Canada. He showed strange behavioral patterns from an early age which included torturing animals and attacking children.
Jesperson lived in Washington with his wife and three children, but the couple divorced in 1990 after 15 years of marriage. That same year, he committed his first murder.
Keith often taunted authorities with anonymous confessions, bragging about his murders. He wrote his first confession in a bus terminal's bathroom after killing Taunja Bennett.
“I beat her to death, r*ped her, and loved it. People took the blame and I’m free.” - Jesperson scribbled.
Jesperson is currently at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, serving three consecutive life sentences.
About Happy Face Killer's victims
The Happy Face Killer murdered eight women between 1990 and 1995. Jesperson claims to have killed 185 people, but only eight have been confirmed.
The list of victims includes Taunja Bennett, Cynthia Lyn Rose, Claudia, Laurie Ann Pentland, Julia Ann Winningham, Angela Subrize, and two anonymous women from California and Florida.
Jesperson often considered his murders as "putting women out of their misery."
Here's a video (age-restricted) of the Happy Face Killer describing his first victim:
About Netflix series, Catching Killers
Netflix's new true-crime series Catching Killers showcases serial killers, their intentions, and detailed exploration of crime scenes.
The official synopsis of Catching Killers reads:
“The investigators behind infamous serial killer cases reveal the harrowing, chilling details of their extraordinary efforts in this true crime series.”
Keith Hunter Jesperson is featured in episodes 3 and 4.
Here's a trailer for the four-episode series:
Catching Killers was released on November 4, 2021.
The Happy Face Killer's story is also documented in Oxygen's Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer.
The two-hour show revolves around interviews between Jesperson and crime novelist M. William Phelps, author of Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer.
