The last unidentified victim of the infamous serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson, known as the “Happy Face Killer,” has been named over three decades after her remains were found along a highway in California, as announced by authorities on Thursday.
The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office revealed that the woman, previously known only as “Claudia” to investigators, is Lydia Jane Wade McWhorter from Texas. This identification came after DNA testing linked her to a maternal family member.
McWhorter’s body was discovered on August 30, 1992, along Highway 95, about seven miles north of Blythe, California. Jesperson, a long-haul truck driver, later confessed to murdering her, admitting he referred to her as “Claudia,” though it was unclear if that was her actual name.
This identification process was reignited last year when Riverside County investigators looked to confirm McWhorter’s identity. Genetic genealogy had connected her to relatives from her father’s side, but they were still missing the maternal link until recently.
At the time, it was reported that Summer Gonzales, identified as the victim’s paternal half-sister, was eager to uncover her sister’s actual name and hoped to give her a proper burial. Eventually, a lead from the investigative team directed them to a direct maternal relative of McWhorter. Following this, they identified a plausible genetic connection within her maternal family.
This connection was confirmed with a DNA sample earlier this week, allowing McWhorter to finally be identified nearly 34 years after her body was located, according to authorities.
McWhorter’s sisters, who had known her growing up, struggled for decades without answers after she vanished from Texas in the 1990s, as mentioned by prosecutors.
Billy Hester, the supervising investigator of the Cold Case Unit, expressed gratitude for public involvement in their investigations. He noted that tips and community awareness can significantly impact solving such cases. He hopes this resolution will bring peace to Lydia’s family.
The district attorney’s Division of Victim Services is now collaborating with McWhorter’s family to help them honor her and determine how to lay her to rest.
Jesperson, arrested in 1995, confessed to killing eight women from 1990 to 1995 in several states, including California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming. He earned the moniker “Happy Face Killer” after sending letters about his crimes to the media, signing them with a smiley face. He pleaded guilty to McWhorter’s murder in Riverside County on January 8, 2010, and received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. He is currently serving multiple life sentences in Oregon.
With the identification of McWhorter, Riverside County’s cold case team has now successfully resolved the last unidentified victim case related to Jesperson’s murders.
