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Keith Hunter Jesperson, aka the Happy Face Killer, is a notorious Canadian American serial killer who was convicted of murder. Born in British Columbia, Canada, on April 6, 1955, Oxygen True Crime reports that he was abused and bullied as a child. Frustrated with his life, Jesperson soon turned to torturing animals and attacking other kids.
In 1975, he married Rose Hucke, with whom he had three children. Jesperson and his family settled in Selah, Washington, and he worked as a long-haul trucker for a living. Towering at six feet, six inches, Jesperson had to travel from state to state. As such, the nature of his job helped him to find his victims.
Keith Hunter Jesperson split from his wife in 1990, the same year he killed for the first time. According to Murderpedia, he killed eight people in Nebraska, California, Florida, Washington, Oregon, and Wyoming. His first victim’s name was Taunja Bennett, who he strangled to death after raping her. A cyclist discovered her body near the Columbia River, as reported by the New York Daily News.
Happy Face Killer: Did Keith Hunter Jesperson ever harm his children?
According to Melissa Moore, one of Jesperson’s daughters’, the serial killer never harmed his children. However, in an interview, she revealed that she knew something was not right with her father. According to Oxygen True Crime, she said, “I loved my dad, but I didn’t really enjoy being around him. He made me anxious. He never molested or beat any of us, it was just a feeling that something was building, seething beneath the surface.”
She further stated, “I had once tried to articulate it to a school counselor. But it didn’t come out right. He would leer at women in public, make lewd remarks about them, and harass them.”
For his crimes, authorities sentenced Keith Hunter Jesperson to life in prison for four consecutive terms. Furthermore, he is held in the Oregon State Penitentiary.
