‘Happy Face Killer’ victim could have ties to Southeast Texas
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A woman believed to be connectected to Southeast Texas or Southwest Louisiana is described by ‘Happy Face Killer’ Keith Hunter Jesperson to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office in California. Sketches are based on a description by Jesperson, courtesy RSO Forensic Technician Cori Kopitzke, updated in August 2023.
Thanks to advances in DNA technology, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in California reported, they are hopefully close to identifying the only remaining unidentified victim of serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, 68, known as the “Happy Face Killer.” Roughly 30 years after Jesperson’s incarceration for murders spanning several states, authorities are now linking a Happy Face Killer homicide to Southeast Texas or a nearby vicinity.
Jesperson, a long-haul truck driver, killed at least eight women across the United States in the 1990s and sent authorities confession letters signed with smiley faces. He is serving seven life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Jesperson’s known victims spanned six states: California, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Florida.
According to information from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the county’s Regional Cold Case Homicide Team is searching in a new state for answers, seeking help to identify a female victim, including possible relatives, in Southeast Texas and Louisiana area.
The unidentified victim’s body was found on Aug. 30, 1992, approximately 100 feet from U.S. Highway 95, seven miles north of Blythe, California. After Jesperson’s arrest in another case, the now infamous serial killer confessed to a news reporter in Portland, Oregon, and later to Riverside County Sheriff’s Office deputies, that he killed her and seven other women, according to the DA’s Office.
Jesperson claimed the woman was hitchhiking at truck stops and she wanted a ride to Phoenix, Arizona, with him.
Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Amy Contreras reported that the unidentified victim was allegedly dropped off at a truck stop south of Victorville and walked over to Jesperson, who was working on his 1989 Peterbilt 18-wheeler, and asked him for a ride to Los Angeles. Contreras stated the victim got in Jesperson’s truck and the pair headed east on Interstate 10 to a truck stop near Indio. After Jesperson and the victim ate lunch, Contreras divulges of information gleaned from Jesperson, they got into a heated argument and he killed her before continuing east on the interstate. Jesperson reportedly then turned on to Highway 95 where he dumped the victim’s body alongside the road.
Jan. 8, 2010, Jesperson pleaded guilty to the murder of the unidentified woman, whom Jesperson referred to as “Claudia,” in Riverside County and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Since “Claudia” was never positively identified, Riverside District Attorney Mike Hestrin stated his goal is to identify the victim and provide closure for the family.
“We are hopeful someone hearing any of these details may remember anything that could help us reunite this woman with the family who may have been looking for her for over three decades,” Hestrin stated in a release. According to Hestrin, improvements in forensic science allowed investigators and genealogists to determine some familial relatives, including her father, now deceased.
The victim’s father was from Cameron County, Texas, but traveled all over the country, including Texas; Santa Barbara County, California; Washington state and Oregon. Several half-siblings of the victim have also been identified, none biological matches to the victim’s mother, and were none aware of a family member named “Claudia.”
“However, genetic mapping has indicated the woman’s maternal side of the family has ties to the Louisiana and/or Southeast Texas area,” Hestrin added.
Jesperson told authorities the woman had shaggy white blond hair and tight clothing, and that her name was “Claudia.” He described her as about 20 to 30 years old in 1992, and about 5-foot-7, medium built, approximately 140 to 150 pounds. The victim was found wearing a gray or white T-shirt with a skeleton riding a Harley Davison motorcycle on the front with the words “Ride Me Ride Free” underneath; she also had a tattoo of two small dots on the left side of her right thumb.
Persons who believe they may be a relative in this case should contact GedMatch (www.gedmatch.com) for DNA comparison. Any other information can be reported to the Cold Case Hotline at (951) 955-5567 or by email at coldcaseunit@rivcoda.org