Keith Hunter Jesperson
American-Canadian serial killerWikipedia
23
MENTIONS
9
EPISODES
9
PODCASTS
Search complete. 23 mentions across 9 episodes found for "Keith Hunter Jesperson".
Nov 2, 2026
Maria DiLorenzoGUEST
BTK, Dennis Rader, so he was one.
Maria DiLorenzoGUEST
Ted Kaczynski, Sean Greig, Keith Jesperson.
Maria DiLorenzoGUEST
It was just like a ton of letters that went out.
Maria DiLorenzoGUEST
And I would have to say most of them responded in some way.
Bobby CapucciHOST
And to digress a little bit, what about the people who just end up missing? There are serial killers out there that are so, say, sophisticated with the way they conduct their business, conduct themselves, that they don't even have the bodies turn up.
Bobby CapucciHOST
A good number of serial killers are believed to be truckers, like the Happy Face Killer, Keith Jesperson, long-haul drivers who target prostitutes and take advantage of being on the road for weeks at a time to hide their crimes.
Bobby CapucciHOST
There's no doubt that long-haul truckers are huge when it comes to suspects in serial killings.
Bobby CapucciHOST
In the Great Basin series that we have going, the first three episodes, it's...
Bobby CapucciHOST
And to digress a little bit, what about the people who just end up missing? There are serial killers out there that are so, say, sophisticated with the way they conduct their business, conduct themselves that they don't even have the bodies turn up.
Bobby CapucciHOST
A good number of serial killers are believed to be truckers, like the Happy Face Killer, Keith Jesperson, long-haul drivers who target prostitutes and take advantage of being on the road for weeks at a time to hide their crimes.
Bobby CapucciHOST
There's no doubt that long-haul truckers are huge when it comes to suspects in serial killings.
Bobby CapucciHOST
In the Great Basin series that we have going, the first three episodes, it's...
Ray William JohnsonHOST
And he's a truck driver, so he'll just pick up different women hitchhiking, or pick up sex workers or whatever, and he'll just kill them.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
And he ultimately becomes known as the Happy Face Killer.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
Now, during all of this, Keith learns, through the media, that two other random people, John and Laverne, have been convicted of the first murder he committed, of Tanja.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
And he gets super pissed off.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
Like, how dare someone get credit for the killing that he did.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
He wants the murder to be credited to the Happy Face Killer, him.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
So he writes anonymous letters, and he sends them to news outlets and to the police, trying to correct this information.
Ray William JohnsonHOST
But there's not really much that they can do in this particular situation.
KristenHOST
And at the top of the letter, he'd drawn a smiley face.
KristenHOST
A columnist for The Oregonian, Phil Stanford, began referring to the anonymous writer as the Happy Face Killer.
KristenHOST
And in that second letter, the so-called-
MogabHOST
I hate these nicknames we give them.
KristenHOST
You're a rapist.
KristenHOST
Yeah.
KristenHOST
Um, anyways, this is the Happy Face Killer.
KristenHOST
And in that second letter, the so-called Happy Face Killer said Tanya Bennett had been his first murder.
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Lynden BlakeHOST
The Happy Face Killer had many names, one being Happy Face, two being Keith Hunter Jefferson, and the third being just dad.
Lynden BlakeHOST
We talked to the serial killer's daughter, Melissa Moore.
Lynden BlakeHOST
Does she still talk to her dad after his killing spree? And why she moved back to the scene of the crime? Are there signs that Melissa may have missed? I'm Lynden Blake, and you're listening to That's So Criminal.
Kyle UnfugHOST
[laughs]
Johnjay Van EsHOST
The Happy Face Killer.
Rich BerraHOST
Oh.
Johnjay Van EsHOST
She's counter Jefferson.
GeorgiaHOST
Then John's trial came next, and he pleaded no contest to the murder and kidnapping charges against him, fearing that he would get the death penalty if he pleaded not guilty In March 1991, he was also sentenced to life in prison.
GeorgiaHOST
And they would have remained in prison for the entirety of their sentences had Keith Hunter Jesperson, also known as The Happy Face Killer, not been arrested in March 1995 for another murder.
GeorgiaHOST
He then confessed to eight other murders, including that of Taunja Bennett, saying he picked her up at a bar in Portland and had taken her back to his home before killing her.
GeorgiaHOST
His confession was thought to be true from very early on, with the district attorney confirming that all the claims he made were completely corroborated by law enforcement.
Scott ReischHOST
What are we waiting for? Next, nearly eight years after Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife Shanann and their daughter Bella and Celeste here in, uh, Frederick, Colorado, his parents are speaking at length about the case and revealing a letter their son asked them to take to the grave of his victims.
Scott ReischHOST
Ronnie and Cindy Watts spent four days speaking with Melissa G. Moore, the daughter of serial killer Keith Jesperson, for a new Daily Mail feature.
Scott ReischHOST
Now, during a visit to the, uh, Bethesda Cemetery there in Aberdeen, North Carolina, where Shanann and the children are buried, they carried a letter Chris wrote from prison dated January 10th of 2020.
Scott ReischHOST
Now, Shanann's 36th birthday.